27/02/2017 House of Commons

Hello and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage from

Westminster. In an puzzlement time the Shadow Health Secretary John

Ashworth will ask an urgent question on the loss of confidential NHS

correspondence by NHS shared business services. The company

failed to forward confidential documents about patient are removed

or changed GP surgeries. Around half a million medical documents,

including cancer test results, were put into storage rather than being

sent to family doctors. After that, two new MPs will be introduced to

the Commons following last week's by-elections. MPs will then spend

the rest of the day debating public spending for future flood prevention

and health and social care in England. In the House of Lords peers

begin their detailed debate on the legislation triggering the UK's exit

from the EU. You can watch that lifts using the BBC's red button

service or via our website/ Parliament. Do remember to join me

for a round-up of the day in both Houses of Parliament at 11 o'clock

tonight, and before we have questions to the communities and

Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid and his ministers, the Speaker

will pay tribute to the Labour MP and father of the House, who passed

away yesterday. Order, order. It is with great

sadness that I have to report to the House the death of the Right

Honourable Sir Gerald Kaufman. He will be sorely missed by his

relatives, by his friends, by his constituents and by his

parliamentary colleagues, not to mention very large numbers of people

across this country and around the world. Colleagues before Gerald

entered Parliament and after leaving Oxford University, Gerald worked as

assistant General Secretary of the Fabian Society and a journalist on

the Daily Mirror and for the new statesman. Thereafter he was

Parliamentary press liaison officer for the Labour Party, working

closely with Harold Wilson. He entered this house as colleagues

will know, in June 1970 as the member of Parliament for Manchester

Ardwick, which constituency he represented until 1983. Thereafter

and following boundary changes, he represented Manchester Gorton from

1983 without interruption. He was, as we know, the father of the House.

He served in this place belligerently, with principal and

utter dedication for well over 46 years. Under Harold Wilson and Jim

Callaghan, Gerald served as a minister with responsibility for the

environment and subsequently with responsibility for industry. In

opposition he was a long serving and distinguished member of Labour's

Shadow Cabinet, serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the

environment, Shadow Home Secretary and, indeed, as Shadow Foreign

Secretary. Many people will know he was a prolific writer, the author of

several books, not least and perhaps most memorably a book entitled How

To Be A Minister. After he ceased to serve on the front bench, Gerald

chaired initially the select committee on National Heritage for,

if memory serves me correctly, a full parliament, and then when the

committee took its new form the culture media and sport select

committee, it Gerald chaired that committee for two hold parliaments.

Since 2010, Gerald has been the longest serving Labour member of

Parliament and since 2015 he has, of course, been Father of the House. In

more recent years I have been privileged to be supported by Gerald

on the speakers committee on the Electoral Commission, of which he

was, if I can put it this way, a highly distinguished ornament.

Gerald was, of course, a passionate, eloquent, relentless campaigner for

social justice at home and abroad. I will not pretend that he was always

the easiest of colleagues. If you were lauded or praised by Gerald you

doubtless took delight in the experience. If you were attacked or

denounced by Sir Gerald, you could be in no doubt on the matter. But

there was that fidelity to principle, that commitment causes,

that insistence on doing his duty by his constituents, by his party and

by his country. Gerald will be mourned very widely indeed, and

expressing, I hope on behalf of the House, our condolences to his

relatives and friends, I should perhaps just take this opportunity

to say to the House that colleagues will have a chance to pay tribute to

Sir Gerald later this week. Order. Questions to the Secretary of State

for Communities and Local Government. Question number one, Mr

Speaker. The Secretary of State for

Communities and Local Government. If I Mayowa my like -- would like to

join you in paying tribute to the late honourable member for

Manchester Gorton. He showed it was possible for the children of

immigrants to treasure their roots are still increasing their

Britishness and the active role they can play in public life. I'm sure I

talk for the whole house when I say he will be deeply missed my

sympathies go to his family and friends, Mr Speaker. If I may now

turn to question number one, Mr Speaker.

One person sleeping on the street is one too many. All too often support

is provided at point. This is why we are supporting 84 projects through

?50 million homelessness prevention programme and seek to tackle

homelessness and rough sleeping. Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I also

associate myself with your comments regarding the late Father of the

House. It's a sad day, a sad loss and we shall miss him dearly.

Official figures confirm rough sleeping has more than doubled since

2010, after falling by more than three quarters under Labour. Why

does the Secretary of State thinks homelessness fell under Labour but

has risen so dramatically under the Tories?

Secretary of State. The honourable lady, she touches on

the record of the last government, the last Labour government. It would

be fair to point out the level of statutory homelessness acceptances

was higher in every year of the last Labour government bar one than is

today. It does show that homelessness, whether it's rough

sleeping or other forms of homelessness, is a chronic long-term

issue that has been challenging for successive governments. I think if

we can all work together on this issue, take a more cross-party

approach it can help. Support from members across the House for the

homelessness prevention Bill is a great example of how we can work

together. Mr Richard Fuller. Thank you. The

site the great efforts of voluntary groups Bedford is one hot spot for

people sleeping rough. What will the Minister do to make sure the

measures coming up will have an impact they are intended for? Mr

Speaker, I know my honourable friend cares deeply about this issue. He

has raised it with me in the past. What I would like to reassure him is

the Government does take the issue of rough sleeping very seriously. I

can point to the recent announcement of the ?20 million rough sleeping

fund and also the work we're doing on social impact bombs to find new,

creative ways that also help. Will you take the short trip up the

M5 where he can visit the YMCA's brilliant open-door project which

finds homes with families, in stable homes for homeless young people in

the Black Country. It is phenomenal, getting the majority into work and

even into university. Will he come and look at that and consider

whether he can fund a similar scheme nationwide, because it really does

achieved remarkable results? Mr Speaker, I would join the

honourable gentleman in commending the work of the YMCA in this area,

particularly their open-door project. I would like to learn more

about that. It is just these kinds of projects that we want to see more

of and provide support. That's why think our ?50 million homelessness

prevention fund, which already is supporting over 80 projects, can

help. With the good efforts of my right

honourable friend's department not be assisted by a cross-party effort

which would deal with some of the underlying issues such as addiction

and inspiring the Department of Health to aid in this?

Mr Speaker, and please my honourable friend speaks again about a

cross-party approach to this very, very important issue. He highlights

the need to look at the causes of homelessness. When any member of the

houses come across anyone homeless, they will see their needs are often

complex. It can be addiction, for example, it can be mental health

issues. I think we would all do well to take those more seriously.

With the Secretary of State that one of the reasons why people end up

homeless, sleeping on the streets is because of the actions taken by

private landlords? Very often in houses of multiple occupation? Would

he look at what more could be done to regulate the private rented

sector, to prevent conditions arising that drives people onto the

streets? I thank the right honourable lady,

she makes a good point. I don't think that's the primary cause, nor

do I think she is suggesting that. It is something worth looking at. I

hope she would welcome the decision we've made to extend licensing to

smaller HMOs, I think that can help with the situation.

While there remains much still to do, the Scottish Government has

pushed ahead with measures to help those who need it most, such as the

Scottish welfare fund, which has issued grants totalling ?116 million

since the scheme was established. Ground-breaking homelessness

legislation and regulation over private landlords and rents. What

similar measures has the UK Government taken?

There are some similar measures that have been taken in England, for a

example in terms of providing enough funding, ?550 million has been set

aside to tackle homelessness, I mentioned the prevention programme

and also ?100 billion, a new programme to deliver at least 2000

low-cost accommodation places. Number two, please. With your

permission I will answer this with question number nine. The Government

is committed to building the homes we need. Measures in the White Paper

will ensure homes are built more quickly when they have planning

permission and we will diversify the housing market. What action is his

department taking to make sure unused public sector land in London

is brought forward more quickly for housing development? My honourable

friend is right to raise the broken housing market in London, I know he

has done much to help in his own area, and I can tell him the

minister for Housing and planning, who co-chairs the London land

commission, is working to identify new opportunities to release public

land for housing, and in the last Autumn Statement we allocated ?3.15

billion to affordable homes in London. We have done our bit, I

expect to see the Mayor of London to his. Gloucester City Council have

put together a strong bid to support the state regeneration programme,

which will transform the old estate in my constituency. Would he agree

to meet briefly to hear our case and could he advised when he thinks

decisions will be made on these bids? My honourable friend has been

a strong advocate of regeneration, he has talked about this to me a

number of times and he should know my department has received a number

of bids for regeneration across England. We will make funding

announcements shortly that I would be happy to meet him and discuss

this further. We'll do Secretary of State come to Huddersfield Giants

see how many private sector new homes have been cold? Unfortunately

they are nearly all for students. Isn't it about time elderly people

up and down the country had the right kind of homes for them? Could

we not have more councils given the liberation to build those homes? One

thing that may help is if the Labour run Kirklees Council when it put

together its local plan had thought about all the different people who

live in the area. He might be happy to learn that into White Paper we

have set out further requirements for all local authorities to make

sure they looked at the needs of the area, including older people. Could

I extend the condolences of the SNP to the family, friends and

colleagues of Gerald Coffman. He has had a considerable impact, more than

many, who will miss his dignity and his contributions. Write to buy is

not just right to buy but to buy at a discount. And Baxendale of shelter

has said its extension would jeopardise any profit needed for

future house-building. Can the Secretary of State explain why he

wants to make it harder for people to access truly affordable housing?

The Government believes their right to buy policy, whether for council

housing for the extension of that to housing association homes, is

important and we will continue to like that and were paid ten and

exercises that right, we expect to see that home replaced.

Neighbourhood plans have incentivised councils to build more

houses by giving them 25% of the community infrastructure Levy. With

that subject to review, is there a plan to continue with that same

proportion for local parishes? I agree, the importance of

neighbourhood plans of getting more ownership at that local level is why

the measures we have taken in the Neighbourhood Planning Bill are

welcome to do that. When it comes to the levy, it is important to

maintain that principle. We'll do Secretary of State consider bringing

forward legislation to end the practice of land banking? My

constituency are fed up of seeing properties sat on by developers

without seeing new homes which we need. In the year to September 2016

277,000 planning permissions were granted in England, a record high

since 2007. We want to see those turned into homes. People cannot

live in a planning permission and in our White Paper there are measures

to deal with this. Fabricated dwellings are now built to high

standards, and so will the Secretary of State visit prestige homes in

Kettering which are an exceptional quality, to see how these sort of

dwellings might help him address problems in this country? I agree

with the point, we want to see more innovation and creativity in

house-building, factory build and modular homes, they have an

important role to play. I have seen factories in Bedford and Leeds and

would be happy to visit one in Kettering. Can buy from the Labour

front bench the fulsome tribute you paid to our dear friend and

colleague, Gerald Kaufmann? Those of us who knew him best will miss him

most. After seven years of Conservative failure on housing, we

were told by the Secretary of State that is White Paper would be a

radical plan yet when he launched it he said his top priority was a

proper conversation about housing need. After new figures showed that

new house-building last year fell, though White Paper was meant to fix

the housing crisis, so how many more new homes will be built by the end

of this Parliament as a result of the White Paper? The honourable

gentleman time and again get up and talks about the failure to build

homes when the evidence is very different but he never refers to his

own track record when we saw housing fall to its lowest level since the

1920s. He asks me about though White Paper and the reception of that, let

me share with him the response, the National Housing Federation calls of

a positive step in the right direction, the world town and

planning Institute say they welcome the measures and maybe she can guess

where this came from, yesterday's housing White Paper points us in a

better direction and shows promising signs for Londoners. That came from

the Mayor of London. Number three, Mr Speaker. All those organisations

will be interested in the question he cannot answer, how many homes

will be built. The White Paper was a white flag for first-time buyers.

Home ownership rose by 1 million under Labour and has fallen since

2010 and is in freefall for young first-time buyers, so given this,

why is help to by helping 20,000 people who aren't even first-time

buyers? Why is it helping over 3000 people who earn more than ?100,000 a

year, and will he used the budget next week to target better this

taxpayer 's' help and do more for first-time buyers? First of all, the

honourable gentleman will know since July we have taken actions to boost

home-building, not just as outlined in the White Paper, 3 billion

house-builders fund, 2.3 billion infrastructure fund and 1.4 point

for building for affordable homes. He should know, having being a

Housing Minister, that home ownership rates under Labour fell

and I have another quote here from him, which says, I am not sure the

decline in home ownership is such a bad thing. Number three, Mr Speaker.

In the last few weeks the Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the

Midlands engine, and then sink to new enterprise zones. The first ever

Midlands engine trade summit will take place in Birmingham on the 9th

of March. Can he outlined to me how the Midlands engine will help

Northampton? As the Midlands MP I am pleased to see a successful Midlands

engine and economic profits. For Northampton small businesses will be

eligible for the investment fund which will open soon and Northampton

will benefit from over ?5 billion in infrastructure investment. London

gets shed loads of network, as the West Midlands MP, what discussion

has the Secretary of State had with the Secretary of State for Transport

on extending the tram network in the West Midlands? The honourable

gentleman will know about some of the work going on around Birmingham

to extend the tram network, and about the recent allocation we

announced our ?392 million of local growth funding. There will be more

detail shortly but a large part of that is going to transport projects.

Question five. Our recent White Paper underlines the commitment to

the green belt. Land should only be removed in exceptional

circumstances, when taken demonstrate they have fully examine

all other options for meeting housing need. In cases where a plan

is proposing large-scale development on the green belt such as in the

case of big Greater Manchester framework, will my honourable friend

assures me he will carefully assessed how realistic the

projections and assumptions are such as population growth and household

size? I can assure him that the approach taken will be robustly

tested by a planning inspector and he will give evidence, and he is

quite right that before looking at releasing green belt land, councils

should look at Brown Belt, surplus council land and how their

neighbours can meet housing need? Plans to build on the green belt and

Bury are part of the Greater Manchester special strategy. Does

the minister agree with me that councils across Greater Manchester

should look up looking brownfield and other sites and perhaps

increasing density to do so? I agree, though White Paper sets out

what exceptional circumstances mean, it is a phrase in the plan work that

has not been defined before so it is about looking at public sector land

and what neighbouring areas can do. Question six, Mr Speaker. Small

builders tell us the two key constraints they face are accessed

two lines and finance. Or home-building fund includes ?1

billion of funding to small builders and our White Paper will make sure

councils make small sites available. The time that it takes to get a site

through the planning process often is a challenge for small builders

who are less able to bear the risk involved, so will he continue with

the reforms he is making to the planning system to ensure local

authorities can deal speedily with small sites? He is right to raise

the challenges small builders face. They plan to boost the capacity of

planning authorities by allowing them to increase planning fees,

councils can take action where decisions are not taken sufficiently

quickly and a new principal regime means small builders can see what

the planning certainty of a site is without having to do the full

preparation. My local authority flinch is just over the border from

England but is currently building 500 new council homes, putting

people into housing and creating jobs in the private sector as well.

We absolutely want councils to get back into the business of building

homes. There is a huge need for more housing and the more people are

involved in building, the happier if the Government will be. Question

number seven. After White Paper sets out methods to increase modern

methods of construction. The key is to encourage suppliers to invest in

new plans and we will do that to accelerated construction and the

growing customer build markets. Wouldn't he agree custom-built homes

that can be built more quickly and more cheaply have a real part to

play in this, in solving the housing supply issues in this country? My

honourable friend is absolutely right. Not only can we get homes

built more quickly, not only is their environmental performance

better, which means cheaper for people to live in when they move in,

but in terms of the real skills challenge we face, if we're going to

build many more homes in this country, it's a way of getting more

new people involved in building homes.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting one of the partners of the

architects behind a new housing development in Dalston, Hackney,

which uses more timber than any other company in the world. Is this

on the Government's radar and what is the Minister doing to support

architects who are exploring this sustainable material? It's

absolutely on our agenda. The term covers a wide range of different

techniques and the key policy areas are the home building fund,

providing ?1 billion worth of funding to people who are

innovating. Too many homes are built in the same way they were 100 years

ago and we are determined to change that. I'm happy to hear of the

example of the lady provides. A number of constituents have

recently contacted me concerned that the quality of new-build homes that

are currently being constructed. What encouragement scan the

Department give to builders, to ensure these homes are robust for

many years in the future? My honourable friend is quite right

to say it's not good enough just to get new homes built, they need to be

built well and stand the test of time. Our building inspectors check

that requirements are met but we also considering a report by the

committee are making sure the recommendations are met.

At the weekend we learned ?7 million will be paid in compensation for

poorly built homes. Can the Minister tell the House what he's going to do

to improve the quality of new homes, including those built by new methods

of of construction? Unfortunately the housing white paper was good on

words but lacked any substance whatsoever on quality. The

honourable lady says that but it had a very warm reception from right

across the housing sector. I just spent the last week travelling all

around the country, holding meetings with housing professionals.

Interestingly, meetings with Labour councillors, who are keen to get

behind this government's agenda to build the homes the governments of

both colours over 40 is a failed to do.

For reasons best known to themselves, about two years ago to

Local Authorities, Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire Council,

challenged the Government's policy of assisting Brownfield development

via vacant building credit. Can the Minister update us as to whether the

Government is still committed to do this, to release more homes on

Brownfield land Chris Wratt we are certainly committed to trying to get

a greater proportion of the homes we need in this country built on

Brownfield land. The white paper sets out a huge

range of different things we're going to do to achieve that but I

will happily write to my honourable friend of the details of the point

you raised. I welcome the Minister's pitmen to

new construction methods. Can the Minister confirmed to the House

government's commitment to starter homes, encouraging home ownership,

remained undiminished? Absolutely. Starter homes are an

important part of the way in which this government is going to try to

help people get into homeownership. There are an number of different

schemes... We not proceeding with the statutory operation because

that's the view that's been expressed to us by large numbers of

people, but starter homes, alongside shared ownership and help to buy

scheme, none of these schemes, none of these schemes existed when the

honourable member was housing minister.

Question number eight, Mr Speaker. Our devolution deals will support

economic growth across the country by devolving powers and funding from

this place to be determined by local people. By May of this year 33% of

England's population will go to the polls to elect their directly

elected mayors. I thank the Minister for his reply.

I'm sure the Minister knows two years ago with Yorkshire council

agreed a devolution deal for Leeds city region. Why has there been no

progress? And what plans does the Minister have, to give West

Yorkshire the devolution deal that they want and why the delay?

We have made good on the city deals we negotiated with the Leeds city

region. The problem on a broader Yorkshire devolution, because this

is a bottom-up approach, there hasn't been an agreement across

Yorkshire. Some of her colleagues in recent weeks have helped the matter

by proposing solutions on a boundary and other nature that are not within

the legal framework. Does my honourable friend not agree

with me, to paraphrase President Kennedy, it's not so much what the

Government can do to assist devolution deals but what devolution

deals can do through themselves through strong leadership following

the election of effective mayors? Absolutely. And I'm thinking of an

example of the sort of leadership we will require in this Mirallas tease.

I think they need look no further than the West Midlands, where Andrew

Street is a fantastic candid and I'm sure will be a strong champion and

now for the West Midlands. Could I thank the Minister for his

continued efforts to keep the Sheffield city evolution --

devolution deal moving forward. I understand mayoral elections will be

postponed until the winter but I understand it may be possible for

the Local Authorities to access a ?30 million a year some on offer to

have an interim air, is that the case and what criteria need to be a

place that happen? Can I thank the honourable gentleman for his

unwavering support. It is a good deal, it will deliver funding and

powers. It is possible for us to look at interim mayors if possible.

What I will say to the honourable gentleman is the Government is

absolutely committed to that do or try to bring Matt Teale forward as

quickly as possible, but with the agreement of the four Local

Authorities in the Sheffield city region. -- bring that forward as

quickly as possible. Mr Speaker, in recent weeks and

months we have introduced the first Northern powerhouse strategy and

more importantly put ?556 million of behind that, in the local growth

funding allocations. The North receiving the largest proportion

from that fund. And I thank the Minister for his recent visit and

thank the Government for the ?4 million investment that will create

1100 new full-time jobs. We have seen strong growth in SMEs across

the North of England in recent years. What more can we do to help

SMEs grow and expand? It was a delight to visit the industrial

estate on a wet Lancashire Day. Are there any others, Mr Speaker Chris

Wratt I thank the honourable friend for his poor without. With -- in

relation to SME ands I had a meeting to provide loans to support our

wonderful small and medium-sized businesses across the North. Mr

Speaker, small businesses form an important part of your's economy is

part of the northern powerhouse, however businesses are struggling

with the new deal on business rates are overseas landlords are pushing

up rents which is pushing up the value. What discussions stirs the

Minister have with the Treasury so that next week's budget we will see

a fair deal on business rates? I was in York on Friday talking and

speaking with America York. As she will be aware, business rates across

the North will be falling, but as the Chancellor and my honourable

friend the Secretary of State has made clear, we are committed to

supporting further those businesses who are hardest impacted by braces.

Across the North generally we will see falls in business rates.

The local enterprise partnership under the growth fund... The two and

Local Authorities are also members of the Lincolnshire wrap. Can he say

when their settlement will be due? We did recently allocate ?27 million

to the Humber in the growth deal. It's important to remember that on a

per head basis, more than has been received in parts of the South of

England. We will announce the greater Lincolnshire allocations as

part of the ?392 million package for the Midlands in the coming weeks.

Mr Speaker, business rates are based on valuations carried out

independently of ministers by the valuation office agency. The change

in the average business rate in Dover is largely as a consequence of

the significant increase in the rateable value of the English side

of the Channel Tunnel. I thank my right honourable friend

for that answer. Can he confirm leaving aside the Channel Tunnel,

which is done very well in recent years and got nothing value an awful

lot, that business rates across the Dover district a are down 8% and

will you look at the case of small businesses?

I can tell my honourable friend that as a result of this recent

re-evaluation, the English side of the Channel Tunnel has seen its

value more than double to ?35 million, which now accounts for

roughly a third of the local ratings list. If this were excluded, average

rateable values in his Local Authority would fall in line with

the rest of Kent. With exclusive reference to Dover, the Dover Road

does not go through Hackney. It is not just the Dover district having

these problems, but businesses up and down the country, particular

year in London and the south-east. I met with small businesses in

Hackney, not that far from Dover, on Friday! The reality surely is that

the system is bust, small businesses, with a small turnover

are being hit with huge and unsustainable bills. What's he going

to do to make life better for businesses in Dover, Hackney and

around the country? Mr Speaker, I think the honourable

lady deserves that answer to that. First of all, there is transitional

relief in place worth some ?3.6 billion, which can help businesses

across the board, including smaller businesses.

Second, the extension of small business rate relief, which will now

apply to 600,000 companies from April this year, means that those

businesses will pay zero, zero in business rates and I'm sure she

would join me in welcoming that. Number 12.

Mr Speaker, as we set out in the recent housing white paper we will

consult on options. We will do this at the earliest opportunity and it

will be reflected in changes to the National Housing policy framework.

Can he confirm we will not be overruled and that the white paper

does mean that inspectors will now apply uniform criteria to

calculating five-year land supply? What I can tell my honourable friend

as it will be inappropriate to comment on any particular plan in

front of the inspectors, but we do want Local Authorities to put in

place up to date robust plans and incentivise Local Authorities to do

so. Once adopted we want them to be respected and adhered to. My friend

will know having that five-year supply in place enables Local

Authorities to protect their areas against unwanted development.

In the North East Lincolnshire local planning includes an estimated

13,340 additional homes up to 2032 that need to be built, an average of

702 homes per year. The number of homes classified as in affordable

being built in England has fallen to its noise level the 24 years. Only

50 of those homes were completed compared to 220 back in 2010, a fall

of a third. Can the Secretary of State explain why after seven years

of this government affordable house-building is at its lowest...

Mr Speaker, we have put record amounts of investment into

affordable homes. We have listened to housing associations to ask them

what can help them deliver across the country, including an

Lincolnshire, one thing they have asked for was more flexibility and

we provided just that. Isn't it vital that key decisions on

housing targets in the local area are made by the council selected by

local people. Mr Speaker, I agree with my right honourable friend.

It's an important principle when it comes to planning in this country,

the key decisions around allocating land for development and making

those decisions on planning permission should be led by local

areas. Every area needs housing that is

affordable to those on low incomes yet building of these is that a

record low. When the member for one and worst was Housing Minister there

were 40,000 new starts in 2009 yet last year there were less than 1000.

Why is there next to nothing in that White Paper that will increase

social how drink and quite will they not let ministers borrow to increase

social housing? The number of units available for social rent declined

by 410,000 under Labour. We have seen in this Government 1.5 billion

allocated in the last Autumn Statement. 29 pubs are closing every

week... Sorry. Rates are set independently by ministers and the

approach for valuing pubs has been agreed by all five bodies

representing the pub sector. I'll start again. 29 pubs are closing

every week and the industry estimate they will have to increase prices by

35p per pint to deal with the rates increase after evaluation. All small

businesses, many in Sheffield and bright side, are in that firing line

and given the public outcry from local businesses and even his own

back benches, does the Secretary of State I agree there should be a full

review of business rights? Pubs and restaurants across Yorkshire and the

Humber will see a 4% cut in the rates overall and many will also

benefit from the doubling of small business rate relief, but as I said

earlier, the Secretary of State and the Chancellor are looking closely

at what further support can be made available to those impacted by

rises. Pubs appear to be the net loser from revaluation and the

Government has done a lot to protect them recently. Is this another

example of where the evaluations agency has to be grotty grip of

because they seem to defy the Government on one hand? The guide

for agreeing evaluations was agreed with all five groups representing

pubs and the picture will be different across the country with

many seeing a reduction in rates but we remain committed to trying to

help people who have been heavily impacted. 15, sir. It is nearly a

decade since the current needs assessment formula was looked that,

so we are undertaking a funding review to consider how to introduce

a fairer formula. Can I welcome the review announced and share the

enthusiasm for it among councils in Somerset. Could he stepped out the

likely structure of the review and the minimum time it may take to

complete? I was in Somerset last week to help launch the excellent

county elections manifesto and fairer funding was one issue. The

new formula will determine the baseline funding allocations as we

implement the 100% business rates retention programme and that is

planned for 2019-2020. One of the local councils in my constituency is

in dire straits financially. It is now planning with a revenue budget

of seven or ?8 million a year to have an annual deficit of 1.5

million, in local terms hugely important. I know our own roll-off

ran for Nuneaton have been looking at this that take an interest in the

management of this local authority to make sure council taxpayers are

not being mistreated by the Council? I agree with the concerns, he has

talked to me about this and to my honourable friend the local

government minister and my honourable friend and myself are

taking an interest in this. Question 16. We are investing nearly ?250,000

to identify those at risk of rough sleeping and I would like to thank

my friend for the role he played and tribute to the member for Harrow

East. I think the member meant to say he would group this question

with that from the member for Chelmsford. Can I pay tribute to the

work of my friend for Harrow East whose homelessness reduction Bill

will help tackle homelessness and having seen the cross-party working

in action, does he agree with me that it is by working on a

cross-party basis that we will tackle homelessness? He is quite

right and the Secretary of State said that earlier. There is any not

just to invest more money in this area but to change the law to ensure

we have a full safety nets and to intervene earlier to prevent people

becoming homeless rather than at the point of crisis. Would he agree that

the work Chelmsford City Council is doing to tackle the problem of rough

sleeping in Chelmsford is innovative and positive? I agree and I want to

thank for his personal commitment to this issue and say the work

Chelmsford is doing is supported by nearly ?1 million from that fund the

Secretary of State referred to. If the Department of work and cuts

housing support it adds to homelessness pressures for the

Department of local government and communities. Does he think the DWP

should go ahead with caps for 18 to 20-year-olds and is he making

representations to colleagues in other departments to stop it? We

have increased discretionary payments by 50%, what she says is

nowhere near enough, 60% of local councils have not taken up their

full allocation. Question 18. We are supporting local growth through the

local growth fund, ?31 million of which was recently announced for the

seventh. The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership has played a key role

with the dons breed business Park. Will the minister continue to

support these to work together to drive economic growth? Yes and I

congratulate him for his work in securing funding for the haven't

business support fund. Local enterprise partnerships help to

drive economic growth and continued to have our support. Topical

questions. Number two, Mr Speaker. In that past month the local

government Finance Bill has passed its report stage and the

Neighbourhood Planning Bill has almost completed its passing through

the Lords. White Paper has been published and I am meeting with

council leaders to see how we can work together to shape the future of

local government. Councils are rightly using their powers more

broadly and competitively. The minister and his department may keep

looking at issues in my constituency for Eastleigh Borough Council is

using commercial sensitivity to hide behind deficit by 2020, where debt

of 240 million by Adam did former banks to become libraries. Can the

ministers confirm these details will not be kept from those who voted

them in? I'm glad she is shining a light on these issues and they are

of concern. She will know transparency is the foundation of

local accountability. We have made councils published data on spending

and procurement online and any counsel who hides information should

be wary of the power of them a lot bucks. With over a million adults in

England with unmet care needs, does the Secretary of State now agreed

with the chair of the Health Select Committee that the Government can do

longer ignore the funding crisis in adult social care? What I agree with

is that we must constantly look at what more we can do to support the

vulnerable and those who rely on adult social care. Am sure he will

welcome the ?3.5 billion allocated at the last spending review and my

announcement of an additional almost ?9 million for the adult sector

across England. No one will be surprised by the lack of urgency in

that response, so let me ask this, including social care the Local

Government Association estimates there will be a funding gap of

almost ?6 billion by 2024 critical local services. What will the

Secretary of State do about that gap? The ?3.5 billion I referred to

was more than what the Local Government Association set out,

despite that as demand has grown we have acted with the additional 900

million and as I have made clear, this issue is not all about money

but reform, especially promoting more integration between work done

by local authorities and the health sector. With significant housing

growth, what steps are ministers taking to ensure where developers

run into financial difficulties, infrastructure is provided and

developments are completed? The White Paper sets out a number of

measures, first of all the infrastructure fund announced in the

Autumn Statement, secondly we are giving local authorities power to

intervene and make sure schemes get built. We cannot just plan for homes

but need to make sure they are built. Waste collection and

processing is currently regulated under the EU waste framework

directive. Local government takes on a great deal of responsibility for

waste management and has invested in staffs -- staff, bins, and

processing centres. What certainty can he give on future waste

investment plans? We take this issue very seriously. I have discussed it

a number of times with my colleagues and it is something we want to see

how we can take further action and it is something I would be happy to

write to her own. Some local authorities have processes that are

so complex that they appear to be designed to deter small companies

from bidding. I know local authorities in Kent who require

bidders to complete a prequalification form before every

single tender is committed, and that's OK for a large companies who

have contract departments but it is burdensome for SMEs, so what is he

doing to encourage local authorities to make it easier for small

companies to bid for work from them? I can share that this was an issue

identified in 2010 when there was a change in government, the Cabinet

Office have already done work to make it easier for small firms to

win procurement competitions that there is more to do and where I can

encourage him is that as we leave the EU many of the rules that cause

challenges are from the EU and we will take a clear look at that. The

Secretary of State will note the importance of EU structural funds to

Scotland with investment vital for local communities. Does the minister

agree that the uncertainty about the future of those funds after leaving

the EU will impact the long-term plan is and risk damaging those

deals? I don't agree. We have been clear in our commitment to EU

structural funds until 2020 and I would remind him that this is

British taxpayers' money at the end of the day. Councils in my area

require a definition of housing supply but do not worry about the

methodology, they just want to know what it is, and could the Secretary

of State tell me if he thinks the Liberal Democrats support this

Government because no Liberal Democrat has been in this chamber

until three minutes ago. Ministers have no responsibility for the

whereabouts of Liberal Democrat members, the member has made his

point. Thank goodness for that! On the issue of housing supply, we are

measuring the total size of housing stock and local authorities are

asked to plan for the number of homes but also the right mix of

homes. Why is the minister abolishing the requirement to

approve the finance settlement, because they have inflicted that

much damage to local government services and they want to not be

accountable in Parliament? I think the honourable gentleman is

referring to some of the measures in the Finance Bill. When we moved to

business rates, 100% business rates retentions, all local councils in

England will be fully funded and therefore there will be no legal

requirement that have an annual settlement, because no money will be

forthcoming directly from central government.

Some London authorities have an average of 40% more spending power

compared to somewhere like North Yorkshire, despite the fact they

often have younger populations and wealthy populations. In his fair

funding review, does the Minister agree, future allocation should be

based upon cost drivers, simply need on the cost of delivering those

services? I very much agree with my honourable

friend. He spoke very eloquently about this very issue in the local

government financial settlement debate just last week. What he

highlights is the need to look again at the formulas that are used, that

are outdated, not transparent, and to make sure that when we allocate

funding its done on a needs basis. Thank you. The chief executive of

centrepoint recently said of the Government's plans to axe housing

benefit for 18-21 -year-olds, the Government's plans could cost the

taxpayer more money than it saves on force more young people into

homelessness. In light of cross-party support for the

homelessness build, will the Minister agree to scrap this policy

and focus on delivering genuinely affordable homes our young people

need? I can certainly commit the last part

of what the honourable lady asks for. In terms of London, the

Government is providing ?3.51 billion to the mayor and the mayor

has been generous enough to say that is the best settlement for

affordable housing in London. We need to make sure private landlord

still have the money to lend to younger people and we are looking at

that issue. As important as the funding formula debate is, would my

friend agree with me at how councils organise themselves in order to

ensure the maximum value for the taxpayers back? Against that

backdrop I hope the right honourable member will be giving my proposals

the thumbs up for Dorset, because that's the only way to support

services for local people. What my honourable friend highlights

as we have rightly encouraged councils to be creative, to be

innovative, as they deal with challenges, and some of them have

come forward with proposals to reorganise. I won't comment on a

particular one, it would be inappropriate at this stage, but we

do look at those very carefully and take them very seriously.

The leasehold advisory service should play an important role in

providing advice to leaseholders. However the current share as

previous extensive business with freeholders and has boasted of

maximising ground rent opportunities for them. Can ministers not see how

this looks question mark in order to reclaim the confidence of

leaseholders, will they agree to look into the suitability of letting

him continuous chap? I'm well aware of the right

Honourable's members passion for this issue. I would say I recently

announced funding will, purely from the Government so no one can be in

any doubt that its job is to stand up for the interest of leaseholders.

Local Authorities do come in for a bit of stick in this chamber from

time to time, but the Secretary of State will be fully aware of the

tremendous work that North Yorkshire County Council did in Tadcaster in

the last year. I wonder who take this to thank North Yorkshire County

Council and David bowl, who did so much great work in ensuring the

restoration of the Bridgend are -- the bridge and our planning

department? I was pleased to join my honourable friend a few weeks ago

for the reopening of Tadcaster bridge, alongside his constituents.

Great to see so many young people is operating a moment as well. I would

happily join him in congratulating the Council on their work and the

local enterprise partnership, but my honourable friend himself knows all

the work he did to help bring that bridge back to life.

What assessment has been made about cuts to the recent education grant?

We saw this recently that Local Authorities have been funded

adequately to deal with the challenges they face. If honourable

members opposite are so concerned about local government finance, it

was interesting in the debate last week that only four backbench Labour

members bothered to turn up and speak. The honourable gentleman can

have a small second bite of the cherry. With the Secretary of State

agree district councils continue to be a most effective tier of local

government and have a strong future? Mr Speaker, I can absolutely agree

with my honourable friend, district councils are hugely important in

terms of local democracy. They are, alongside other councillors, are the

bedrock of our local government and they have the full support of this

government. Last week I met with lakeside energy from waste. A

company that is enabling Local Authorities in my area to reduce

their waste into landfill. As the Secretary of State knows, this plant

is due to be knocked down as a result of the creation of the third

runway at Heathrow and yet they are very anxious that there is no

reference at all to the future of the plant in the national policy

statement. Will he or one of his colleagues meet with me and lakeside

energy from waste in order to discuss how we can make sure that

this important plant is re-provided? This may well be an issue for the

Department for Transport but I would be the more than happy to take a

look. Can the Minister say what plans he

has to reintroduce a new homes ombudsman last month the Government

is looking at the report from the all-party Parliamentary group on

excellency in the building department. We are determined to

build the homes this country needs but they must be built to a

sufficient quality as well. I will keep it brief. Secretary of State,

I've listed three positive responses to a Belfast city deal. Instead of a

fourth response, could we have a meeting? I will be more than happy

to meet with the honourable gentleman. I will make sure a

meeting is arranged. I'm very keen to see what ever my department can

do to work across and help all regions of the United Kingdom

including Northern Ireland. Thank you. Order. Wilbur member

wishing to take his seat please come to the table. -- would the member

wishing to take his seat. I, Gareth Craig is now do solemnly

sincerely and truly declare and affirm I will be faithful and paid

for allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors,

according to law. -- Gareth Snell.