Contributions
1,177 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)Well, I am grateful to him for trying to give all the answers, but I only agree with some of them, as he would expect. I wish that he would accept the amendment, but he has stated…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I will try not to take that personally. The Minister should be grateful for what he has got. If he wanted a shadow Energy Minister on the Committee, he could have made that known…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I will, yes—is he going to give me another one?13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I welcome the clarity in the Minister’s opening remarks on the clause. While the theory of generating renewable energy, and deriving income by selling electricity generated from…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)The Minister has satisfied me with his answers and is adopting a constructive tone regarding the clause, but I want to press him on the criteria used to determine ministerial…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 83, in clause 22, page 29, line 33, after “benefits” insert “of £1,000 per year for ten years”.13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)Amendment 83 was tabled by the shadow Scottish Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie). We welcome clause 22, which empowers the…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I do not know which newspaper the hon. Gentleman reads, but it is obviously not a very good one, because it takes the comments of my hon. Friend the shadow Scottish Secretary and…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister for some of the answers he has given—13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)We welcome clause 25, and I welcome the Minister to his position. He has a lot to live up to after those clauses, and I will continue to be nice to him. I say well done also to…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)On that point—depending on the Minister’s answer, I may not have to make a speech and detain the Committee—the Minister has outlined that the strategic highways authority is…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)Please do not write to me on that. I say that not to offend officials but because I do not want them overworked and the Minister has clearly outlined what he means, for which I am…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)May I say, Mrs Hobhouse, that you are absolutely on fire? We are getting through things very quickly, and I will adhere to your instructions. The clause updates the objection and…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Fifth sitting)We welcome the clause and the clarification and certainty that the Minister has given, but I want to put some questions, along similar lines to those we have asked before, about…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. The Opposition wholly understand the intention behind clause 38, but I want to ask the Minister a quick question.…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)We agree with the Government on clause 39. However, if local authority members need to give a majority vote on the first round, it makes the Minister’s claim that the measure will…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)We welcome the Minister’s comments on clause 43. As we enter the world of net zero and increasing green travel, we need to have the infrastructure in place, so we support the…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)I resist the temptation to say that the hon. Gentleman is picking me up on every point in this Committee. At no point did I say that I do not think we should have cleaner energy…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)I welcome what the Minister has to say about this clause. In common with other hon. Members who have spoken, we welcome the general gist of permitting regional variation to…13 May 2025HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure Bill (Sixth sitting)Clause 45 relates to mandatory planning training, which is long overdue. It could be a huge benefit to local planning authorities to have trained planning committee members. When…13 May 2025