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Hello and welcome to BBC
Parliament's live coverage of the | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
House of Commons, there will be two
urgent questions, the first on hate | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
crime following letters calling for
punish a Muslim day and the second | 0:00:15 | 0:00:18 | |
on the treatment of House of Commons
staff after accusations against the | 0:00:18 | 0:00:23 | |
speaker and several MPs of bullying
behaviour and then the Prime | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
Minister will make a statement on
the no of agent attack on the former | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
Russian spy Sergei Skripal -- nerve
agent. And his daughter in | 0:00:29 | 0:00:34 | |
Salisbury. Karen Bradley will make a
statement on a new budget in | 0:00:34 | 0:00:39 | |
Northern Ireland including £410
million of the package go shaded by | 0:00:39 | 0:00:44 | |
the DUP in return for backing the
Conservative government -- | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
negotiated. Liam Fox will made a
statement on the tariffs on steel | 0:00:47 | 0:00:53 | |
and imported aluminium announced by
the US president Donald Trump. And | 0:00:53 | 0:01:02 | |
the main business this evening will
be the remaining stages of the | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
financial guidance and claims Bill,
so remember to join me for a | 0:01:05 | 0:01:11 | |
round-up of the day in both Houses
of Parliament tonight at 11 o'clock | 0:01:11 | 0:01:15 | |
but first we have questions to the
Secretary of State for housing | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
communities and local government
Sajid Javid and his team of | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
ministers. ... The ending
homelessness parliamentary group has | 0:01:22 | 0:01:33 | |
taken evidence around the success of
rapid rehousing models in Denmark, | 0:01:33 | 0:01:38 | |
what consideration has my right
honourable friend given to the | 0:01:38 | 0:01:41 | |
merits of rolling out such
programmes alongside faster and | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
wider roll-out of housing first in
England? Mr speaker, can I pay | 0:01:44 | 0:01:50 | |
tribute to my friend for the role he
has played as the co-chair of the | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
ending homelessness APPG and he is
right to point to international | 0:01:54 | 0:01:59 | |
experience, when we look at this
huge challenge we face in our | 0:01:59 | 0:02:04 | |
country, and housing first has come
from the experience we have | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
especially in Finland and I thank
him for his support. Lucy Powell. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:13 | |
The rising level of homelessness in
Manchester is the biggest issue that | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
people raise with me on the doorstep
and elsewhere and it doesn't matter | 0:02:16 | 0:02:22 | |
all the good work that we are doing
in rehousing people, there are too | 0:02:22 | 0:02:26 | |
many people coming through the
system it at the other rental but so | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
what conversations is the Secretary
of State having about stopping | 0:02:30 | 0:02:35 | |
people becoming homeless in the
first place? -- at the other end. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:44 | |
The honourable lady is right to
raise this issue and it comes up in | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
Manchester as well as so many other
parts of the country and she is | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
right to point to the cross
department work that is required | 0:02:52 | 0:02:56 | |
including the DWP and other
departments, like the Ministry of | 0:02:56 | 0:02:59 | |
Justice, with the number of
offenders that end up on the | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
streets, so it is being co-ordinated
and the task force that the Prime | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
Minister has created is helping to
achieve just that. Michael | 0:03:05 | 0:03:08 | |
fabricant. Does my right honourable
friend a agreed with the causes of | 0:03:08 | 0:03:21 | |
homelessness on the street is not
just a lack of housing, it is very | 0:03:21 | 0:03:25 | |
complex, and will he take the
opportunity of going to the West | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
Midlands and visiting the mayor of
the West Midlands Mr and the street | 0:03:28 | 0:03:34 | |
and see the work and initiatives
that he is undertaking to prevent | 0:03:34 | 0:03:41 | |
this problem? I agree with you for
the what has been spoken about is | 0:03:41 | 0:03:50 | |
important regarding the complex
causes of rough sleeping and | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
homelessness, and the mayor of the
West Midlands has led the way on | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
this including with the housing
first project. Exeter has suffered a | 0:03:56 | 0:04:00 | |
terrible increase in homelessness
and rough sleeping since 2010 | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
although in the last couple of years
strenuous efforts have seen a | 0:04:03 | 0:04:07 | |
reduction in the last two years in
the sleeping but will he and | 0:04:07 | 0:04:12 | |
government colleagues look at the
decisions to cut supported living | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
and public health grants to local
bodies that find alcohol and drug | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
treatment programmes because that is
hampering local authorities attempts | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
to tackle this problem? I'm happy to
join the right honourable gentleman | 0:04:22 | 0:04:28 | |
in commending the work in Exeter
that they have done we should try to | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
learn from each other and from
councils. In terms of the causes, | 0:04:32 | 0:04:40 | |
addiction, especially drug addiction
and alcohol addiction, it is | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
important that we keep up finding
where ever it is necessary and that | 0:04:43 | 0:04:47 | |
is why we are providing £1 billion
of total funding until 2020 | 0:04:47 | 0:04:51 | |
including a number of projects which
are designed to help specifically | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
with addictive problems. 1% of rough
sleepers in London are non-UK | 0:04:54 | 0:05:00 | |
citizens, what can we do about the
importation of homelessness? My | 0:05:00 | 0:05:06 | |
friend is again right to point to
the causes of homelessness and there | 0:05:06 | 0:05:12 | |
are a number of people that sleep on
the streets that are not from the UK | 0:05:12 | 0:05:16 | |
and everyone deserves help but we
must also look carefully at the | 0:05:16 | 0:05:19 | |
causes of homelessness so we are
working carefully and closely with | 0:05:19 | 0:05:22 | |
the Home Office to see what more we
can do. LGBT young people are much | 0:05:22 | 0:05:28 | |
more likely to become homeless and
account for up to 24% of the young | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
jobless population, according to the
Albert Kennedy trust, what is the | 0:05:32 | 0:05:37 | |
Secretary of State going to do to
address this problem? I agree is | 0:05:37 | 0:05:43 | |
that anyone that is homeless and
especially anyone that is rough | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
sleeping deserves our help, the help
of government and local government, | 0:05:46 | 0:05:52 | |
and that is why the number of
projects that we have in place, over | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
48 different types of projects many
of them community led and many of | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
them funding directly by the
government are designed to achieve | 0:05:59 | 0:06:05 | |
that. The last official survey in
Cheltenham Festival nine homeless | 0:06:05 | 0:06:11 | |
people and each is a living rebuke
for us to do more -- in Cheltenham | 0:06:11 | 0:06:18 | |
found nine homeless people. The £1
million homeless impact bond should | 0:06:18 | 0:06:23 | |
be used to provide one-to-one
support. Yes, and can I commend the | 0:06:23 | 0:06:30 | |
charity for the rugged as Dan and I
know you have a lot of interest in | 0:06:30 | 0:06:35 | |
that -- the work it has done. The
government has funded aid social | 0:06:35 | 0:06:41 | |
impact bombs including the one | 0:06:41 | 0:06:42 | |
-- the government has funded eight
social impact bonds. It has been | 0:06:45 | 0:06:55 | |
praised by charities taking a step
in the right direction and that | 0:06:55 | 0:07:00 | |
includes a £50 million fund, what do
ministers think of the work that is | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
going on in Scotland and will they
look at the recommendations made by | 0:07:04 | 0:07:08 | |
the working group? Again, you
rightly emphasise the point of | 0:07:08 | 0:07:14 | |
learning from each other, and where
Scotland has had success with | 0:07:14 | 0:07:18 | |
homelessness and rough sleeping we
should look into that and seek other | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
examples in the UK and my honourable
friend the housing minister is | 0:07:22 | 0:07:28 | |
visiting Scotland and will be
looking at that issue later this | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
week. One of the best ways the
government can support homeowners | 0:07:30 | 0:07:38 | |
with mortgage costs is by making
sure the economy remains strong and | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
competitive so that employment is
high and interest rates as low as | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
possible. At the end of this month
the government is taking away | 0:07:45 | 0:07:50 | |
mortgage support from 110,000 people
and there will be 7000 so far who | 0:07:50 | 0:07:55 | |
have applied for the loan which
replaces it, what does the | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
government think the other 100,000
people are going to do on the 2nd of | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
April? The honourable gentleman is
referring to the support for | 0:08:03 | 0:08:09 | |
mortgage interest policy which is a
DWP lead and the government is right | 0:08:09 | 0:08:14 | |
to strike the right balance between
the needs of hard-pressed homeowners | 0:08:14 | 0:08:18 | |
and the taxpayer but if you are
really interested in helping | 0:08:18 | 0:08:22 | |
homeowners, maybe you can explain
why he voted against the stamp duty | 0:08:22 | 0:08:28 | |
cut that this government
implemented. The withdrawal support | 0:08:28 | 0:08:35 | |
from mortgage interest came as a
blow to my constituents who came to | 0:08:35 | 0:08:40 | |
see me on Friday and many thousands
like them will struggle with this | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
support withdrawn and they may not
wish to take up an additional loan, | 0:08:43 | 0:08:48 | |
can he explain what options will be
open to these people and what | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
assessment has he done of the impact
for people on the home they have | 0:08:51 | 0:08:55 | |
brought? And the impact on social
housing lists which --? I think the | 0:08:55 | 0:09:06 | |
honourable lady misunderstands the
policy, the government is not | 0:09:06 | 0:09:11 | |
withdrawing support, the government
is making it fairer and making sure | 0:09:11 | 0:09:13 | |
support is still available, it will
be land-based, secured by the | 0:09:13 | 0:09:18 | |
individual's property but that also
protects the rights of taxpayers | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
which I think you would have been
interested in doing. The help to buy | 0:09:22 | 0:09:33 | |
scheme helped 116,001st-time buyers
get onto the property ladder and | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
it's similar to the supply of new
housing. Some of my constituents | 0:09:36 | 0:09:45 | |
have been on the wrong end of
aggressive behaviour by personnel, | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
and they are concerned that the
biggest concern for house-builders | 0:09:48 | 0:09:53 | |
is that they have increased as
prizes by 10% with almost all of | 0:09:53 | 0:09:58 | |
this bag as profit and much of it
paid out to senior -- increased | 0:09:58 | 0:10:06 | |
prices by 10% with almost all of
this bag. Should they not be doing | 0:10:06 | 0:10:12 | |
more to consign the aggressive
behaviour of companies like this? -- | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
contain. It is good news that help
to bite helped to get more homes | 0:10:15 | 0:10:21 | |
built and it has contributed 15%. I
have concerns, but I remind the | 0:10:21 | 0:10:28 | |
gentleman that it was this
government that introduced the | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
corporate government reforms
including to make sure there is | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
greater transparency and greater
shareholder grip over directors pay. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:43 | |
The minister will know that some 10%
of those on the help to buy scheme | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
earn over £80,000 EU and even in
London, people can afford to buy | 0:10:47 | 0:10:53 | |
without this tax subsidy, can he
contrast the Secretary of State's | 0:10:53 | 0:10:59 | |
comments about taxpayer
responsibility with respect to the | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
poorest homeowners who will lose
mortgage entrance and these heavily | 0:11:02 | 0:11:07 | |
subsidised well off people up and
down the country? Some factual | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
clarification would help, because
four out of five of those benefiting | 0:11:11 | 0:11:16 | |
from help to buy have been
first-time buyers and three out of | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
five households benefiting from help
to buy had combined incomes of | 0:11:19 | 0:11:25 | |
£50,000 or less, we are on their
side, it is a shame the Labour Party | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
is not. Tracy Brabin. Number five,
Mr minister. In addition to the | 0:11:29 | 0:11:38 | |
spending review package the
government provided a further £2 | 0:11:38 | 0:11:42 | |
billion for adult social care at the
last budget and an additional £150 | 0:11:42 | 0:11:47 | |
million in the local government
finance settlement and councils will | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
now be able to increase spending on
adult social care in real terms each | 0:11:50 | 0:11:54 | |
year until 2020. Tracy Brabin.
Kirklees Council spends 35% of its | 0:11:54 | 0:12:02 | |
budget on adult social care and it
has just raised council tax to 6% | 0:12:02 | 0:12:08 | |
and half of that is ring-fenced to
find social care but the council | 0:12:08 | 0:12:12 | |
still has tens of millions left to
cut in the years ahead, so ahead of | 0:12:12 | 0:12:17 | |
tomorrow's Spring statement can be
ministers say what he has done to | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
secure more funding from the
Treasury for social care, to | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
alleviate the pressure on councils
like Kirklees? | 0:12:24 | 0:12:29 | |
Mr Speaker, in the most recent
government finance settlement the | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
Secretary of State listened to
concerns from the council and | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
increased funding for social care,
£150 million in adult social care, | 0:12:35 | 0:12:41 | |
£26 million for Kirklees council in
particular, and I recently met with | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
the key cities group of which
Kirklees is a member to discuss | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
their ideas for reforming the
funding formula for councils like | 0:12:48 | 0:12:53 | |
Kirklees. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
When the Select Committee adopted my | 0:12:53 | 0:13:00 | |
honourable friend's Homelessness
Reduction Bill, ministers to their | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
credit engaged positively to make
the Bill work. Can I urge the | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
Minister to be just as positive
about the planned Joint Committee | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
inquiry into funding adult care,
indeed, Mr Speaker, both front | 0:13:11 | 0:13:15 | |
benches need to engage in this
process if we are to have a | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
long-term answer.
I thank my honourable friend for the | 0:13:18 | 0:13:23 | |
question and wholeheartedly agree
with him, as he knows the government | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
is committed to publishing the green
paper on adult social care the | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
summer alongside which there is a
work stream regarding working age | 0:13:29 | 0:13:33 | |
adults social care which I am sure
he will be keen to contribute to as | 0:13:33 | 0:13:37 | |
well. Bridget Phillipson. Increasing
the social care precept will do | 0:13:37 | 0:13:41 | |
nothing to solve the challenge we
face in social care. Isn't it time | 0:13:41 | 0:13:46 | |
that Minister stopped passing the
buck to local councils and instead | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
worked with us to find a long-term
solution to one of the greatest | 0:13:49 | 0:13:53 | |
challenges we face as a country? Mr
Speaker, I agree with the Honourable | 0:13:53 | 0:14:01 | |
Lady that there is a challenge
facing our country and it's | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
important to get it right and put
sustainable -- social care on a | 0:14:03 | 0:14:08 | |
sustainable footing not just this
year but in years to come and that's | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
where the government is committing
to its Green paper to tackle the | 0:14:11 | 0:14:13 | |
problem and she should look forward
to its contents this summer. Thank | 0:14:13 | 0:14:20 | |
you, Mr Speaker. The Minister
referred to the local government | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
finance settlement but this year's
settlement still needs done at means | 0:14:22 | 0:14:27 | |
a cut of £177 million on adult
social care from last year. Given | 0:14:27 | 0:14:32 | |
the NEO's report states more and
more councils are only just managing | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
to balance their books by using
their reserves to cover overspends | 0:14:36 | 0:14:40 | |
on Solskjaer says services, how does
the minister suggest they can avoid | 0:14:40 | 0:14:45 | |
declaring themselves effectively
bankrupt like Northamptonshire | 0:14:45 | 0:14:46 | |
County Council did last month, and
their reserves in many cases will be | 0:14:46 | 0:14:51 | |
gone by 2020. I Susie Dent recognise
those figures. The government has | 0:14:51 | 0:14:59 | |
increased funding for adult social
care, of which over these three | 0:14:59 | 0:15:04 | |
years £9.4 billion in adult social
care, 150 more at the local her and | 0:15:04 | 0:15:12 | |
finance settlement and this
government is listening to councils | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
and delivering extra resources to
help. The local government Finance | 0:15:14 | 0:15:20 | |
Act passed in the 2010 Parliament
divorced local government funding | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
from any assessment of need. The
Government's insistence that raising | 0:15:24 | 0:15:31 | |
precepts by councils can solve the
problem is simply wrong, because it | 0:15:31 | 0:15:36 | |
ensures that those councils in the
wealthier areas with most properties | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
in the higher bands raise more money
than those in the lower bands who | 0:15:39 | 0:15:45 | |
usually have the greatest need, the
greatest long-term De -- diseases | 0:15:45 | 0:15:51 | |
and so on. When will the Minister
understand this and start allocating | 0:15:51 | 0:15:55 | |
social services funding on the basis
of need? Mr Speaker, I can reassure | 0:15:55 | 0:16:01 | |
the Honourable Lady that the
allocation for social care funding | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
does take into account the relative
council tax bases of local | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
authorities across the country, that
said, I appreciate the funding | 0:16:08 | 0:16:11 | |
formula is out of date and needs
review, which is why we have | 0:16:11 | 0:16:15 | |
launched a consultation on reforming
it. It closes today and I welcome | 0:16:15 | 0:16:19 | |
her comments and input into that. We
will reform it to adequately take | 0:16:19 | 0:16:24 | |
care of need as she suggests. David
Warburton. Number six, Mr Speaker. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:30 | |
The number of first-time buyers was
at an 11 year high in 2017, 306 to | 0:16:30 | 0:16:37 | |
5000 across the UK showing that our
concerted action to get more people | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
into home ownership through
initiatives such as Help To Buy and | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
stamp duty exemption for first-time
buyers is working -- 365,000. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:48 | |
It sounds that my Right Honourable
friend agrees with me that home | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
ownership is a fundamentally good
thing, 86% of fellow citizens aspire | 0:16:52 | 0:16:57 | |
to it and there is nothing like
spreading the economic benefits of | 0:16:57 | 0:17:00 | |
homeownership more widely in society
so does my Right Honourable friend | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
further agree we should use every
policy lever at our disposal to | 0:17:03 | 0:17:07 | |
encourage homeownership and give
those all-important first-time | 0:17:07 | 0:17:10 | |
buyers a leg up onto the ladder? Mr
Speaker, I couldn't agree more with | 0:17:10 | 0:17:15 | |
my honourable friend. The
overwhelming majority of people want | 0:17:15 | 0:17:19 | |
to own their own home and we do need
to do more to help them do just | 0:17:19 | 0:17:24 | |
that. Are plans that we have set
out, including earlier this week to | 0:17:24 | 0:17:28 | |
build 300,000 homes in the year will
help normal people realise that | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
dream. Mr Speaker, why doesn't the
Home Secretary wake up on this? So | 0:17:31 | 0:17:38 | |
many people in my constituency and
throughout the country, this is a | 0:17:38 | 0:17:41 | |
government that has failed
delivering enough houses, enough | 0:17:41 | 0:17:46 | |
houses to buy, enough to rent, and
the fact is he has got so many | 0:17:46 | 0:17:51 | |
NIMBYs, he's speaking to one of
them, so many NIMBYs on that side | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
they haven't got the courage to do
anything about it. Mr Speaker, its | 0:17:54 | 0:18:01 | |
members on the side of the House
that are responsible for seeing | 0:18:01 | 0:18:05 | |
house-building last year reached its
highest level in all but one of the | 0:18:05 | 0:18:09 | |
last 30 years. It is members on that
side of the House who have supported | 0:18:09 | 0:18:14 | |
the previous government and a party
that led to the lowest number of | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
house-building that this country has
seen since the 1920s. David Davies. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:24 | |
Seven, Mr Speaker. With your
permission, Mr Speaker, I'd like to | 0:18:24 | 0:18:31 | |
answer this question together with
16. Last year we saw 217,000 homes | 0:18:31 | 0:18:36 | |
added to housing stock in England
and as we have set out a bold, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:40 | |
comprehensive reform we want to see
300,000 homes a year on average | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
delivered by the middle of the 2020s
in England through last week's draft | 0:18:44 | 0:18:53 | |
revised National Planning Policy
Framework. May I congratulate my | 0:18:53 | 0:18:54 | |
Right Honourable friend on the
enormous progress he is making. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
Would he agree with me that it will
not be possible to get the housing | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
shortage completely under control
until we have brought down migration | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
levels from the unsustainable
heights that were created by | 0:19:04 | 0:19:07 | |
honourable member is on the other
side of this House? Mr Speaker, mime | 0:19:07 | 0:19:13 | |
honourable friend will be pleased to
hear we are committed to both | 0:19:13 | 0:19:16 | |
reducing net migration to
sustainable levels and building the | 0:19:16 | 0:19:21 | |
homes that this country needs. Lucy
Allan. Thank you, Mr Speaker. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:27 | |
Telford is a rapidly growing new
town where thousands of new homes | 0:19:27 | 0:19:30 | |
are built every year but for too
many new-build homeowners the | 0:19:30 | 0:19:34 | |
reality is unfinished communal
areas, unadopted roads, failure to | 0:19:34 | 0:19:39 | |
comply with section 106 and
developers failing to take | 0:19:39 | 0:19:42 | |
responsibility. And the local
council passing the buck. What will | 0:19:42 | 0:19:46 | |
the Minister do to strengthen the
rights of new-build homeowners? Mr | 0:19:46 | 0:19:50 | |
Speaker, first let me commend my
honourable friend for the work she | 0:19:50 | 0:19:56 | |
does through the new towns APG and
she is right emphasised the need for | 0:19:56 | 0:20:00 | |
infrastructure alongside new
housing. I know that she welcomes a | 0:20:00 | 0:20:05 | |
housing infrastructure fund but in
terms of holding developers to their | 0:20:05 | 0:20:08 | |
commitments, I hope she will
contribute to our consultation | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
launched this week on that topic.
Rachael Maskell. Thank you, Mr | 0:20:10 | 0:20:16 | |
Speaker. I have the figures for
York, no new social housing | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
commissions under the current
council for the last three years | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
except for older people's
accommodation where there has been a | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
net loss and Right To Buy has made
things worse so under his new | 0:20:25 | 0:20:32 | |
Government's planning framework will
the council be forced to build | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
social housing in your? Mr Speaker,
we are working with councils | 0:20:34 | 0:20:39 | |
throughout the country to help them
to meet their housing needs, and | 0:20:39 | 0:20:44 | |
that includes more social housing
where it is required, and proof of | 0:20:44 | 0:20:47 | |
that was just in the last budget
when we increased the housing | 0:20:47 | 0:20:52 | |
revenue account, the amount that
councils can borrow from the | 0:20:52 | 0:20:56 | |
Treasury to build more council homes
and other types of social housing, | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
we increased it and if York wants to
take advantage of it it can. Bristol | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
has the highest number of office
accommodation to residential | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
accommodation outside London. Under
the permitted development rights | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
scheme that means there does not
have to be any affordable housing | 0:21:12 | 0:21:16 | |
element. What is the Secretary of
State doing to ensure councils like | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
Bristol and insist there is
affordable housing built in our city | 0:21:19 | 0:21:22 | |
centre? Mr Speaker, the Honourable
Lady is right to raise the | 0:21:22 | 0:21:28 | |
importance of affordable housing,
having the right mix of housing | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
everywhere including in Bristol
where we are currently working with | 0:21:31 | 0:21:35 | |
Bristol with both the mayor of West
England and the mayor of Bristol on | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
a housing deal and it would include,
if it happens, a significant portion | 0:21:38 | 0:21:43 | |
of affordable housing. Thank you, Mr
Speaker. Green belt protections | 0:21:43 | 0:21:48 | |
around Bristol and Bath are
displacing housing targets beyond | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
the green belt into Somerset. Should
the council is unable to build | 0:21:51 | 0:21:55 | |
enough houses be required to deliver
transport and infrastructure plans | 0:21:55 | 0:21:59 | |
to service the commuting needs of
new Somerset residents who need to | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
travel through the protected green
belt on their way to work? Mr | 0:22:02 | 0:22:07 | |
Speaker, we want to help all
councils meet their local housing | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
need and that means including
helping with their plans as they | 0:22:10 | 0:22:14 | |
develop them but also giving them
more options other than looking at a | 0:22:14 | 0:22:17 | |
green belt, as we did in the recent
planning draft plan published | 0:22:17 | 0:22:21 | |
earlier this week, and also helping
with infrastructure, and that means | 0:22:21 | 0:22:26 | |
the £5 billion housing
infrastructure fund. Helen Hayes. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:31 | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The previous
Conservative Mayor of London said at | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
the London Housing bank, a loan
scheme so restrictive housing | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
providers couldn't borrow from it.
Can the Secretary of State explain | 0:22:36 | 0:22:40 | |
why instead of responding to
requests from the current Mayor of | 0:22:40 | 0:22:42 | |
London over the past 18 months to
remove some of the restrictions on | 0:22:42 | 0:22:46 | |
this scheme to enable much-needed
affordable homes to be built, he | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
decided to withdraw the funding for
affordable homes altogether, and can | 0:22:49 | 0:22:53 | |
he explain how it's the case that
the first the Mayors office heard | 0:22:53 | 0:22:59 | |
about this was an article in the
Huffington Post? We all want to see | 0:22:59 | 0:23:04 | |
more affordable homes, including in
our capital city, and that's why the | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
settlement over £3 billion in the
Spring Budget given to London for | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
affordable housing is the biggest
ever, welcomed by the mayor, but | 0:23:12 | 0:23:16 | |
despite that we have seen a fall in
affordable housing delivery under | 0:23:16 | 0:23:20 | |
Saddiq Khan. It's not acceptable and
he needs to do much better. Nicky | 0:23:20 | 0:23:24 | |
Morgan. Question number eight. Last
week the government published the | 0:23:24 | 0:23:31 | |
National policy framework for
consultation and through clearer | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
guidance to councils and developers
it will help develop, deliver more | 0:23:33 | 0:23:39 | |
homes and more quickly. Thank you
for the answer. For the sake of | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
disclosure I should say my husband
is the leader, or they refuse to | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
call them that, planning permissions
for ten years worth of housing, but | 0:23:47 | 0:23:54 | |
the difficulty is trying to get the
developers to start the building. If | 0:23:54 | 0:23:58 | |
that doesn't happen it affects the
five-year land supply leaving other | 0:23:58 | 0:24:01 | |
sites vulnerable to develop and. Can
the Minister tell the House what the | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
government plans to do to speed up
delivery by developers for planning | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
permission is they already have? I
thank my Right Honourable friend. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:13 | |
The good news is in 2017 she saw
160,000 new homes registered to be | 0:24:13 | 0:24:18 | |
built, the highest number since the
financial crash, and she is right | 0:24:18 | 0:24:22 | |
about speed, the NPPF will help
deliver that through the housing | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
delivery test and my Right
Honourable friend the member for | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
Dorset West is reviewing build-out
rates. I have no wish to be unkind | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
to the honourable member, the lady
for Bath, let me put it this way, we | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
have had a dose from Bath but by
long-standing convention the member | 0:24:36 | 0:24:46 | |
isn't called twice on substantive
questions so the Honourable Lady | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
seeks to catch my eye on the double
core question she may be successful. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
I admire her persistence but I hope
she understands that's the way we | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
operate -- on a topical question.
She's not greedy, she's just keen! | 0:24:54 | 0:24:57 | |
John Mann. Questioned nine, Mr
Speaker. In nearly all cases it is | 0:24:57 | 0:25:04 | |
for local authorities to take the
final decision on a local plan. In | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
the last two years 50 local plans
were deemed sound by planning | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
inspectors and won by the ministry
itself. But, Mr Speaker, looking at | 0:25:10 | 0:25:15 | |
the consultation from last week
whereby neighbourhood plans are | 0:25:15 | 0:25:20 | |
according to the government a bit
able to be overturned by local | 0:25:20 | 0:25:23 | |
councils above them. And local
council plans above them, by the | 0:25:23 | 0:25:30 | |
Secretary of State and his faceless
bureaucrats. What is wrong in this | 0:25:30 | 0:25:35 | |
country with freedom and democracy
of local people making the decisions | 0:25:35 | 0:25:41 | |
effectively and fairly and
democratically? Is this Josef | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
Stalin, or is this English democracy
that this government is forcing upon | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
us? Mr Speaker, for the thunder and
lightning we are investing £23 | 0:25:49 | 0:25:59 | |
million to support neighbourhood
planning groups and I would gently | 0:25:59 | 0:26:02 | |
remind the honourable gentleman that
94% of councils have published local | 0:26:02 | 0:26:06 | |
plans compared to 32% when Labor
last left office, the last Labour | 0:26:06 | 0:26:10 | |
government wantonly failed to
deliver in encouraging they take-up | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
of local plans where this government
has succeeded. Mr Speaker, talking | 0:26:13 | 0:26:19 | |
of planning ahead, two councils in
Somerset, Taunton Deane and West | 0:26:19 | 0:26:23 | |
Somerset, are waiting to form a
civil council. They have had major | 0:26:23 | 0:26:28 | |
savings by joint sharing already,
but now they really need to know if | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
they can form one authority, and I
wonder if my Right Honourable friend | 0:26:31 | 0:26:36 | |
might update me on the process and
the progress of it. I thank my | 0:26:36 | 0:26:44 | |
honourable friend. This is under
imminent review. The Secretary of | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
State is giving his personal
attention and there will be a | 0:26:47 | 0:26:49 | |
decision taken on it shortly. Thank
you, Mr Speaker. Last week I | 0:26:49 | 0:26:55 | |
attended a meeting of the Eden Park
residents Association as part of the | 0:26:55 | 0:27:01 | |
conversation on Stoke-on-Trent's
joint local plan as they are aghast | 0:27:01 | 0:27:04 | |
at proposals to bring forward the
greenfield site of Berryhill fields | 0:27:04 | 0:27:08 | |
while brownfield sites are left
unlocked at. What can the Minister | 0:27:08 | 0:27:11 | |
say to them to make sure that they
know that when it comes to looking | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
for new housing developer and sites
that brownfield sites will always be | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
chosen over greenfield sites? I
thank the honourable gentleman. He | 0:27:18 | 0:27:23 | |
is right and we have reinforced the
focus on Brownfield first and also | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
looking for extra density where it
can be provided through the National | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
Planning Policy Framework and I look
forward to his supportive comments | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
during consultation. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
Stephen Timms. Question ten, Mr
speaker. Since 2010 we have | 0:27:35 | 0:27:44 | |
delivered 357,000 affordable homes
including 128,000 homes for social | 0:27:44 | 0:27:50 | |
rent and the government is providing
£9 billion of affordable housing and | 0:27:50 | 0:27:56 | |
a 1 billion HR revenue certainty and
these measures will support social | 0:27:56 | 0:28:02 | |
landlords to build more social homes
where the need is greatest. The | 0:28:02 | 0:28:09 | |
number of government funded homes
built for social rent fell to 199 in | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
the last six months, the lowest
numbers since records have been | 0:28:13 | 0:28:20 | |
kept, isn't it clear that there is
an urgent need for a major | 0:28:20 | 0:28:24 | |
government funded programme of
social housing? I know this is an | 0:28:24 | 0:28:29 | |
issue that the honourable member has
championed and it is a badger to do | 0:28:29 | 0:28:34 | |
business with him. We recognise the
critical role supported | 0:28:34 | 0:28:39 | |
accommodation can play in helping
vulnerable people to live | 0:28:39 | 0:28:45 | |
independently and we have delivered
over a thousand units and we have | 0:28:45 | 0:28:48 | |
plans to increase that on top in the
areas that need it most. I thank my | 0:28:48 | 0:28:58 | |
honourable friend for her answers,
Brigitte Abbey has won the | 0:28:58 | 0:29:03 | |
department is returning money to the
Treasury -- but could she explain | 0:29:03 | 0:29:09 | |
why her department is returning
money to the Treasury? Because some | 0:29:09 | 0:29:13 | |
people seem to be causing mischief
over something, this is less than 3% | 0:29:13 | 0:29:17 | |
of the total budget and the money
has been re-profile to come back in | 0:29:17 | 0:29:23 | |
in future years and when councils
and local authorities and housing | 0:29:23 | 0:29:26 | |
associations can bid in, the money
is there to be spent and we wanted | 0:29:26 | 0:29:32 | |
be spent. Alex Marquez. -- Morris.
Building council houses is a prudent | 0:29:32 | 0:29:41 | |
way to provide houses for social
rent but this has been choked off by | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
the government by only inching the
cap of rather than removing it | 0:29:44 | 0:29:48 | |
completely. When will they remove
it? I don't understand why people | 0:29:48 | 0:29:56 | |
misunderstand what is going on with
local government finance, the most | 0:29:56 | 0:30:00 | |
serious areas where there are
shortages of affordable housing, the | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
cat has been lifted to £1 billion
borrowing -- the cap. We made local | 0:30:03 | 0:30:10 | |
authorities to step up and if his
local council has projects like mind | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
as they will be looked unfavourably,
so please ask your local councils to | 0:30:13 | 0:30:16 | |
step up. Ian Austin. Number 11. I do
beg your pardon. Let's get to number | 0:30:16 | 0:30:27 | |
11. LAUGHTER | 0:30:27 | 0:30:34 | |
The numbers in the West Midlands
have increased, overview from 2016 | 0:30:38 | 0:30:47 | |
-- over the year from 2016 in
increased by eight people, I have | 0:30:47 | 0:30:52 | |
the figures, so don't disagree with
me. We have committed to providing | 0:30:52 | 0:30:57 | |
£20 million of funding to pilot a
housing first approach in the three | 0:30:57 | 0:31:02 | |
major regions which includes the
West Midlands combined authority and | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
I'm looking forward to working with
the mayor of the West Midlands on | 0:31:05 | 0:31:07 | |
this issue. I think anybody in the
West Midlands who hears a ministers | 0:31:07 | 0:31:14 | |
say that the number of rough
sleepers has only increased by eight | 0:31:14 | 0:31:18 | |
will be absolutely staggered at the
complacency from this government. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:25 | |
The fact is rough sleeping has
soared in Birmingham and even in | 0:31:25 | 0:31:29 | |
towns like Dudley where tragically a
homeless man died in a tent in the | 0:31:29 | 0:31:34 | |
last few weeks, and the Mayor's
policy won't see rough sleeping | 0:31:34 | 0:31:41 | |
abolished until 2027 and we need a
much more urgent approach was. I | 0:31:41 | 0:31:49 | |
would like to see if ministers will
agree to a new scheme which can help | 0:31:49 | 0:31:55 | |
hundreds of people over the last few
months. I think that was a really | 0:31:55 | 0:32:03 | |
good question and it is helpful that
we get intelligent questions in this | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
chamber because it means that we can
give intelligent answers and the | 0:32:06 | 0:32:10 | |
intelligent answer is the housing
first project is about wraparound | 0:32:10 | 0:32:16 | |
care, £28 million of public money
going to help solve this desperate | 0:32:16 | 0:32:23 | |
problem, the advisory panel is
meeting for the third time in | 0:32:23 | 0:32:27 | |
another two weeks and the task force
has already met and it is an urgent | 0:32:27 | 0:32:31 | |
matter for this government and it
will be solved. Diana Johnson. | 0:32:31 | 0:32:36 | |
Question 12. With permission, I will
answer this question together with | 0:32:36 | 0:32:46 | |
question 19, the 2018-2019
settlement is the third year of a | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
four-year deal providing funding
certainty and accepted by 97% of | 0:32:48 | 0:32:54 | |
councils, and it sees a real terms
increase in resources to local | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
government over the next two years
totalling £45.1 billion in the | 0:32:57 | 0:33:01 | |
forthcoming financial year. Hull is
the third most deprived local | 0:33:01 | 0:33:08 | |
authority in the country and two
thirds of residence requires social | 0:33:08 | 0:33:10 | |
care compared to the national
average and we have been losing | 0:33:10 | 0:33:16 | |
government funding since 2010 by
half and we will be getting the | 0:33:16 | 0:33:19 | |
lowest amount per head of any area
in Yorkshire and the Humber Council. | 0:33:19 | 0:33:23 | |
Having got it so wrong, can the
minister now guarantee that Hull | 0:33:23 | 0:33:28 | |
will get a fair funding settlement?
The honourable lady makes comments | 0:33:28 | 0:33:36 | |
about funding for deprived areas and
she will be pleased to know that | 0:33:36 | 0:33:39 | |
funding per household in her area is
higher than the average for unitary | 0:33:39 | 0:33:44 | |
authorities across the country and
in general the most deprived local | 0:33:44 | 0:33:48 | |
authorities have funding per
household 23% higher than the most | 0:33:48 | 0:33:53 | |
well-off but I can reassure her that
we are committed to introducing a | 0:33:53 | 0:33:57 | |
new fair funding formula and I look
forward to hearing her response and | 0:33:57 | 0:34:00 | |
from her counsel as we develop it.
In a letter to the Secretary of | 0:34:00 | 0:34:05 | |
State last month the Conservative
leader of Warwickshire County | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
Council stated that in their view,
the current funding model for local | 0:34:09 | 0:34:14 | |
government is unsustainable, is she
correct? Mr speaker, I appreciate | 0:34:14 | 0:34:22 | |
the point about the funding
settlement and the Formolo, but he | 0:34:22 | 0:34:25 | |
will know from his membership of the
select committee which I have the | 0:34:25 | 0:34:29 | |
pleasure to appear before, we are
looking very hard at the structure | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
of local government financing,
increasing the business rates | 0:34:32 | 0:34:38 | |
retention and also introducing a new
needs -based formula which takes | 0:34:38 | 0:34:41 | |
into account update needs and
resources and I know his committee | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
will play a huge part in making sure
that we get that right for | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
Warwickshire and the country. I
strongly supported the pressure that | 0:34:46 | 0:34:54 | |
we have put local authorities under
to improve efficiency and I'm sure | 0:34:54 | 0:34:58 | |
that elsewhere in the country there
are examples of where further needs | 0:34:58 | 0:35:01 | |
to be done but in the South West my
impression is that in Devon amply | 0:35:01 | 0:35:07 | |
met and many other local
authorities, right now their | 0:35:07 | 0:35:11 | |
finances have been cut to the bone
and I do think there is an | 0:35:11 | 0:35:16 | |
opportunity for the government to be
more generous with efficient local | 0:35:16 | 0:35:20 | |
authorities in the south-west to
enable them to make sure their | 0:35:20 | 0:35:22 | |
priorities are delivered -- Devon
and Cornwall and Plymouth. I pay | 0:35:22 | 0:35:30 | |
tribute to local authorities across
the country, they have done a | 0:35:30 | 0:35:35 | |
commendable job of providing high
quality services in a difficult | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
climate and I thank them, and I look
forward to the representations from | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
Devon and the south-west as we | 0:35:42 | 0:35:44 | |
reform local government and
financing through the fair funding | 0:35:44 | 0:35:46 | |
formula. David Lammy. On the 4th of
July the Secretary of State said to | 0:35:46 | 0:35:52 | |
the house that he would help with
every precaution local authorities | 0:35:52 | 0:35:57 | |
dealing with the cladding problem
across our country following the | 0:35:57 | 0:35:59 | |
Grenfell Tower fire. Why is it
despite over 40 run local | 0:35:59 | 0:36:06 | |
authorities asking for that help and
the Department given £117 million | 0:36:06 | 0:36:12 | |
back to the Treasury, has he not
been able to find the money to help | 0:36:12 | 0:36:17 | |
those poor people in those buildings
worried as we speak? Mr speaker, the | 0:36:17 | 0:36:25 | |
department is in discussions with
multiple local authorities about the | 0:36:25 | 0:36:28 | |
requirements to improve the safety
of buildings and we understand the | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
Department has not said no to any
local authority that is far which is | 0:36:31 | 0:36:35 | |
seeking flexibility with those
plans. My own counsel in Derbyshire | 0:36:35 | 0:36:41 | |
has seen an hundred £80 million over
half of their budget cut in the last | 0:36:41 | 0:36:44 | |
seven years -- my own counsel in
Derbyshire has seen £180 million, | 0:36:44 | 0:36:52 | |
over half their budget cut in the
last seven years. What will be | 0:36:52 | 0:36:58 | |
minister do to make sure that the
council's receives the proper | 0:36:58 | 0:37:02 | |
funding they need to free up
hospital beds and support families | 0:37:02 | 0:37:06 | |
in the most urgent need? As we have
discussed the government has put | 0:37:06 | 0:37:12 | |
extra resources into social care and
it is pleasing to see that over the | 0:37:12 | 0:37:17 | |
past year delayed transfers of care
across England have fallen 34%, | 0:37:17 | 0:37:23 | |
showing that the resources putting
in our making a difference on the | 0:37:23 | 0:37:25 | |
ground. Since 2010 Hull City Council
have been forced to cut their | 0:37:25 | 0:37:32 | |
children's services budget by £37.2
million and this has meant they have | 0:37:32 | 0:37:37 | |
not had the money they have needed
for the early intervention support | 0:37:37 | 0:37:41 | |
for families and it is no surprise
that the number of looked after | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
children in Hull has increased by
140, 140 lives changed for ever, | 0:37:44 | 0:37:53 | |
will the minister please give
authorities like Hull more money so | 0:37:53 | 0:37:57 | |
they can give those families support
when they need it before the | 0:37:57 | 0:38:00 | |
families enter crisis? The
honourable lady is right to | 0:38:00 | 0:38:07 | |
highlight the important work that
prevention plays no one wants to a | 0:38:07 | 0:38:09 | |
child in need. That is why this
government has committed almost £1 | 0:38:09 | 0:38:15 | |
billion to the troubled families
programme over this period in the | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
spending review which as recent
results have shown has reduced the | 0:38:17 | 0:38:26 | |
Children In Need. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:27 | |
Last week the respected audit office
published a report on the financial | 0:38:31 | 0:38:35 | |
sustainability of local authorities
and it laid clear the significant | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
challenges faced by councils and the
vital services they deliver, can the | 0:38:38 | 0:38:45 | |
Secretary of State prove he is on
the side of local councils and place | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
in the House of Commons library any
submissions he has made to the | 0:38:48 | 0:38:52 | |
Chancellor ahead of the Spring
Budget? I also read the National | 0:38:52 | 0:38:57 | |
Audit Office report with interest
and I was pleased to see it made | 0:38:57 | 0:39:02 | |
very positive comments about the
Department's work in getting to | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
grips with the challenges across
local government making sure the | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
sector is properly resourced and
looks forward to the reviews that | 0:39:09 | 0:39:11 | |
are being put in place to improve
funding and business rates retention | 0:39:11 | 0:39:16 | |
in the way forward. The government
is committed to delivering a new | 0:39:16 | 0:39:24 | |
generation of council homes we are
providing local authorities with the | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
tools and resources to deliver them.
In 2009, 2010, the last Labour | 0:39:27 | 0:39:35 | |
government had 14,000 starts in that
one year but this government has | 0:39:35 | 0:39:38 | |
financed 199 in the last six months,
given we have such a shortage of | 0:39:38 | 0:39:43 | |
local social housing and we have a
homelessness crisis, how does the | 0:39:43 | 0:39:48 | |
government explained this was a ball
performance? For the record, local | 0:39:48 | 0:39:53 | |
authorities have built over 10,000
homes since 2010 compared to under | 0:39:53 | 0:39:58 | |
3000 in the 13 years of the last
Labour government but we know we had | 0:39:58 | 0:40:01 | |
to do much more on that is why we
are raising the borrowing cap by up | 0:40:01 | 0:40:06 | |
to £1 billion to make sure we spare
local house-building as widely as we | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
can. Is it in the private sector to
build in sufficient quantity is to | 0:40:09 | 0:40:17 | |
achieve a reduction in price? It is
a good question which is probably | 0:40:17 | 0:40:24 | |
one for a symposium with everyone
from developers and the planners, | 0:40:24 | 0:40:28 | |
but we do want to see a
stabilisation in house prices and we | 0:40:28 | 0:40:32 | |
need to build more homes and deal
with the demand, there is no single | 0:40:32 | 0:40:37 | |
answer and we have got to yak every
lever at our disposal 30% harder. -- | 0:40:37 | 0:40:42 | |
yank. At last, thank you, Mr
speaker. The settlement sees a real | 0:40:42 | 0:40:53 | |
increase for local government in the
next two years, increasing from | 0:40:53 | 0:40:56 | |
£44.3 billion to £45.6 billion.
Edward Aga. | 0:40:56 | 0:41:03 | |
Leicestershire has had one of the
lowest per head of population | 0:41:06 | 0:41:10 | |
funding settlements in the country,
will he make sure that with the new | 0:41:10 | 0:41:19 | |
funding system it provides fair
funding for Leicestershire alongside | 0:41:19 | 0:41:22 | |
his department continuing to support
our councils in driving further | 0:41:22 | 0:41:25 | |
efficiencies and service
improvements? In particular for | 0:41:25 | 0:41:31 | |
Leicestershire but for councils
there could be no better champion of | 0:41:31 | 0:41:34 | |
fairer funding for the many councils
and not the few, than my honourable | 0:41:34 | 0:41:40 | |
friend, and this evidence -based
review will provide the opportunity | 0:41:40 | 0:41:44 | |
from their funding allocations for
Leicestershire and other councils. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:48 | |
On the 4th of December the sectarian
state told the house that local | 0:41:48 | 0:41:55 | |
government finance settlement is
coming shortly and he can see what | 0:41:55 | 0:41:57 | |
happens with that, but apart from
finding out that the Secretary of | 0:41:57 | 0:42:00 | |
State is bad at maths and doesn't
know what is happening in his | 0:42:00 | 0:42:03 | |
Department the settlement came and
went with no help for children's | 0:42:03 | 0:42:07 | |
services, since then Tory
Northamptonshire has effectively | 0:42:07 | 0:42:10 | |
gone bust siding children's services
as one of the main cost pressures | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
and only last week the National
Audit Office published a damning | 0:42:13 | 0:42:19 | |
report showing the worst crisis in
the local government sectors 170 | 0:42:19 | 0:42:28 | |
year history, so with the Spring
statement tomorrow, what is the | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
minister going to do to make sure
that our children's services get the | 0:42:31 | 0:42:35 | |
£2 billion that even the Tory
controlled local government | 0:42:35 | 0:42:40 | |
Association says that they so
desperately need? | 0:42:40 | 0:42:46 | |
Well, Mr Speaker, we have increased
funding in real terms and I'm sure | 0:42:46 | 0:42:51 | |
his constituents in Denton and
Redditch like my constituents will | 0:42:51 | 0:42:56 | |
welcome that. What I would say to
the honourable gentleman, with the | 0:42:56 | 0:42:59 | |
fairer funding review coming up
white rather than trying to score | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
political points across the chamber,
doesn't he get involved in it so | 0:43:02 | 0:43:06 | |
local authorities can concentrate on
delivering? Thank you, Mr Speaker. | 0:43:06 | 0:43:10 | |
Can my honourable friend provide
assurances that the pressures on how | 0:43:10 | 0:43:14 | |
to London boroughs will be
considered as part of the fairer | 0:43:14 | 0:43:17 | |
funding review? I can absolutely
provide those assurances to my | 0:43:17 | 0:43:22 | |
honourable friend, demographic
change will be at the heart of the | 0:43:22 | 0:43:24 | |
fairer funding review. Number 15, Mr
Speaker. Mr Speaker, over the | 0:43:24 | 0:43:31 | |
Spending Review period councils will
receive more than £200 billion to | 0:43:31 | 0:43:35 | |
deliver local services, this money
is in the large part in ring fenced | 0:43:35 | 0:43:39 | |
so local authorities can prioritise
where they see fit, including for | 0:43:39 | 0:43:43 | |
their statutory duties relating to
children in care. Thank you, Mr | 0:43:43 | 0:43:48 | |
Speaker. With the education
disparity between looked after and | 0:43:48 | 0:43:50 | |
not looked after children so wide
what more does the Minister believe | 0:43:50 | 0:43:54 | |
local authorities can do to bridge
this gap? My honourable friend race | 0:43:54 | 0:43:59 | |
is a good point about the outcomes
for children in care. The government | 0:43:59 | 0:44:03 | |
is consulting and is shortly to
introduce the care leavers covenant | 0:44:03 | 0:44:07 | |
looking to support companies,
charities and local government to | 0:44:07 | 0:44:10 | |
bring care leavers into implement
after they leave care and | 0:44:10 | 0:44:14 | |
strengthening corporate parenting
provisions in the forthcoming | 0:44:14 | 0:44:16 | |
children and social work act. Mr
Speaker, over 1 million homes have | 0:44:16 | 0:44:24 | |
been delivered since 2010, we are
taking forward a range of reforms to | 0:44:24 | 0:44:28 | |
build more homes more swiftly,
including the NPPF published last | 0:44:28 | 0:44:34 | |
week. Two weeks ago I asked the
Department for the number of houses | 0:44:34 | 0:44:38 | |
will not be built because of land
banking, and the answer came back | 0:44:38 | 0:44:42 | |
the department does not hold the
information requested. How can the | 0:44:42 | 0:44:47 | |
Minister have a crackdown on land
banking if he has no information? I | 0:44:47 | 0:44:51 | |
believe the minister does have that
information and I urge the Minister | 0:44:51 | 0:44:57 | |
to publish that information so he
can monitor the builders and we can | 0:44:57 | 0:45:00 | |
monitor his performance. Can I say,
Mr Speaker, I welcome that scrutiny. | 0:45:00 | 0:45:07 | |
It is difficult to establish the
negative in the way he is suggesting | 0:45:07 | 0:45:12 | |
but we have the NPPF housing
delivery test that will test local | 0:45:12 | 0:45:18 | |
authorities and developers on the
delivery of homes and the review by | 0:45:18 | 0:45:21 | |
my Right Honourable friend for
Dorset West which will squarely | 0:45:21 | 0:45:25 | |
address the point he is concerned
about. Number 18, Mr Speaker. Thank | 0:45:25 | 0:45:30 | |
you, Mr Speaker. For areas not, that
have not agreed deal so far we aim | 0:45:30 | 0:45:35 | |
to provide clarity on how best to
take forward their ambitions for | 0:45:35 | 0:45:39 | |
devolution and local growth over the
coming months. The Minister will be | 0:45:39 | 0:45:44 | |
aware that the greater Lincolnshire
deal collapsed last year despite the | 0:45:44 | 0:45:48 | |
support of the overwhelming number
of local authorities. Will the | 0:45:48 | 0:45:52 | |
Minister look favourably on a
revised scheme from a smaller number | 0:45:52 | 0:45:56 | |
of authorities in the county? Mr
Speaker, devolution could almost be | 0:45:56 | 0:46:02 | |
regarded as the golden thread of
Brexit. If we want to take back | 0:46:02 | 0:46:05 | |
control we should bring power is not
just from Brussels to London but | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
from London back to our regions.
Last Friday I met with borough and | 0:46:09 | 0:46:14 | |
county councillors in Gainsborough
and Lincoln and was struck by the | 0:46:14 | 0:46:18 | |
pent-up demand for devolution in
Lincolnshire and suggest the | 0:46:18 | 0:46:21 | |
honourable gentleman uses his
considerable leadership role to | 0:46:21 | 0:46:25 | |
drive for devolution in his. Topical
questions, Tom Pursglove. Mr | 0:46:25 | 0:46:32 | |
Speaker, yesterday we marked
Mother's Day, a few days after | 0:46:32 | 0:46:35 | |
International Women's Day and the
100th anniversary of women getting | 0:46:35 | 0:46:38 | |
the boat. All members will want to
join me in applauding the | 0:46:38 | 0:46:43 | |
exceptional women who make this
country great including our Prime | 0:46:43 | 0:46:46 | |
Minister. Last week she launched
bold ambitious reforms to planning | 0:46:46 | 0:46:49 | |
rules to help build the homes this
country needs and since my last | 0:46:49 | 0:46:58 | |
department I'm pleased the
homelessness reduction task force | 0:46:58 | 0:47:01 | |
has met for the first time and the
government confirmed a support for | 0:47:01 | 0:47:03 | |
the National War Memorial honouring
Sikh servicemen. Corbyn East is East | 0:47:03 | 0:47:09 | |
Hampshire and share has been at the
front over building new homes in | 0:47:09 | 0:47:13 | |
line with the agenda set up by the
Prime Minister last week. Can he | 0:47:13 | 0:47:17 | |
reassure my constituents that along
with building those new homes will | 0:47:17 | 0:47:22 | |
see the appropriate infrastructure
to accompany them at all times? My | 0:47:22 | 0:47:26 | |
honourable friend is right to raise
the issue of infrastructure when it | 0:47:26 | 0:47:30 | |
comes to building the homes we need.
That's why for example the housing | 0:47:30 | 0:47:35 | |
infrastructure fund is so important.
Inodes through his hard work in the | 0:47:35 | 0:47:39 | |
first allegation that Corby received
some and I listen carefully to what | 0:47:39 | 0:47:45 | |
he says. -- I know that through his
hard work. Nine months on from the | 0:47:45 | 0:47:51 | |
Grenfell Tower fire at Nakamba
Secretary of State say yes or no | 0:47:51 | 0:47:57 | |
weather every tower block with a
social or a private landlord which | 0:47:57 | 0:48:02 | |
has Grenfell type cladding has now
been identified and tested? Mr | 0:48:02 | 0:48:10 | |
Speaker, the Right Honourable
gentleman is right to raise this | 0:48:10 | 0:48:15 | |
issue, it is key that we make sure
we're hoping local identify those | 0:48:15 | 0:48:19 | |
tower blocks. When it comes to
social housing all of those tower | 0:48:19 | 0:48:26 | |
blocks, whether owned by councils or
housing associations have been | 0:48:26 | 0:48:29 | |
identified and we continue to work
with local councils including giving | 0:48:29 | 0:48:33 | |
additional financial support, just
last week of £1 million to find and | 0:48:33 | 0:48:37 | |
make sure they are identifying every
single tower block in the private | 0:48:37 | 0:48:40 | |
sector and they will continue to
receive whatever support they need. | 0:48:40 | 0:48:48 | |
Mr Speaker, I think that was a long
winded no and is consistent with the | 0:48:48 | 0:48:52 | |
recent building safety data release
so, how is it nine months after | 0:48:52 | 0:48:58 | |
Grenfell that not all private tower
blocks with suspect cladding have | 0:48:58 | 0:49:02 | |
been tested, that only seven of 301
blocks with Grenfell type cladding | 0:49:02 | 0:49:11 | |
have yet had had removed and
replaced, that not one of 41 | 0:49:11 | 0:49:17 | |
councils that have asked for
financial help with extra fire | 0:49:17 | 0:49:20 | |
safety work has yet even had an
answer from the Department? Now, he | 0:49:20 | 0:49:26 | |
is the Housing Secretary. What does
he say to reasonable people faced | 0:49:26 | 0:49:29 | |
with these facts who feel that he is
failing the Prime Minister's pledge | 0:49:29 | 0:49:36 | |
in June, my government, she said,
will do whatever it takes to keep | 0:49:36 | 0:49:40 | |
people safe. Mr Speaker, reasonable
people understand just how important | 0:49:40 | 0:49:48 | |
this issue is and they don't take
kindly when they Right Honourable | 0:49:48 | 0:49:54 | |
gentleman plays party politics with
such an important issue. Such an | 0:49:54 | 0:49:58 | |
important issue. If he actually
cared Right Honourable gentleman | 0:49:58 | 0:50:03 | |
wouldn't raise it in such a way and
use numbers and twist the facts so | 0:50:03 | 0:50:07 | |
that he tries to scare the public
with what is going on. The truth is | 0:50:07 | 0:50:11 | |
we are working with local
authorities up-and-down the country | 0:50:11 | 0:50:16 | |
to address and locate every single
building, put in remedial measures, | 0:50:16 | 0:50:20 | |
and also to help them with the
funding, and not a single council, | 0:50:20 | 0:50:23 | |
as he says, has been turned away. We
are talking to every single council | 0:50:23 | 0:50:27 | |
that has approached us and we made
it clear they will all receive, if | 0:50:27 | 0:50:31 | |
they needed, the financial
flexibility is to get the job done. | 0:50:31 | 0:50:35 | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thousands of
homes have been granted planning | 0:50:35 | 0:50:40 | |
permission in my constituency but
then we often see long delays until | 0:50:40 | 0:50:44 | |
the houses are built. Could my Right
Honourable friend advise what steps | 0:50:44 | 0:50:47 | |
he is taking to make sure that when
planning permission is granted | 0:50:47 | 0:50:50 | |
houses are built, and particularly
affordable homes? I can give my | 0:50:50 | 0:50:58 | |
honourable friend that assurance.
First, there is the work we have | 0:50:58 | 0:51:02 | |
commissioned, the Independent work
from the Right Honourable member | 0:51:02 | 0:51:05 | |
from West Dorset, on speeding a
building once planning permission | 0:51:05 | 0:51:08 | |
has been given and we will hear more
on that this week. Secondly, in the | 0:51:08 | 0:51:11 | |
consultation that was published
earlier this week, there is a | 0:51:11 | 0:51:15 | |
particular focus on developer
contributions to make sure that | 0:51:15 | 0:51:18 | |
developers stick to their word and
they can no longer game the system. | 0:51:18 | 0:51:21 | |
Matt Western. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
On the 1st of March we saw the | 0:51:21 | 0:51:27 | |
relaunch of the Parliamentary
campaign for council housing | 0:51:27 | 0:51:33 | |
bringing together MPs from all
parties, calling for the mass | 0:51:33 | 0:51:37 | |
building of council housing. Can the
Minister or Secretary of State | 0:51:37 | 0:51:42 | |
specify what the Department is doing
to accelerate the expansion and | 0:51:42 | 0:51:46 | |
building of council housing in this
country? Thank you, Mr Speaker. I | 0:51:46 | 0:51:55 | |
reiterate again, we are raising the
HRA borrowing limited to £1 billion | 0:51:55 | 0:52:01 | |
for local authorities where there is
the highest need for new council | 0:52:01 | 0:52:04 | |
housing to be built to apply, again,
please can I ask him to encourage | 0:52:04 | 0:52:09 | |
councils in his area to apply? What
recent assessment has the department | 0:52:09 | 0:52:14 | |
made of the success of the troubled
families programme? Thank you, Mr | 0:52:14 | 0:52:24 | |
Speaker. My honourable friend has a
long history of being interested in | 0:52:24 | 0:52:26 | |
this programme and he will be
pleased to know the evaluation | 0:52:26 | 0:52:29 | |
reports published in December showed
very promising progress particularly | 0:52:29 | 0:52:32 | |
with regard to children in need and
further findings will be published | 0:52:32 | 0:52:36 | |
in due course in the annual report
and I look forward to discussing | 0:52:36 | 0:52:39 | |
those at length with him then. Thank
you, Mr Speaker. The current | 0:52:39 | 0:52:45 | |
definition for affordable housing
introduced by the coalition | 0:52:45 | 0:52:49 | |
government is set at 80% of local
market rate. But when house prices | 0:52:49 | 0:52:54 | |
are spiralling out of control, as
they are in my Battersea | 0:52:54 | 0:52:58 | |
constituency, this definition of
affordable housing is a cruel joke | 0:52:58 | 0:53:01 | |
to those on low or medium incomes.
Will the Secretary of State commit | 0:53:01 | 0:53:06 | |
to replacing this absurd definition
so that housing can be genuinely | 0:53:06 | 0:53:12 | |
affordable to my constituents? Well,
I do understand the issue the | 0:53:12 | 0:53:17 | |
Honourable Lady raises. I would say
the numbers on social housing | 0:53:17 | 0:53:21 | |
waiting lists are down by half a
million since 2010 and a number of | 0:53:21 | 0:53:25 | |
affordable homes in total including
social housing is higher in the last | 0:53:25 | 0:53:28 | |
seven years and the previous seven
years of the last Labour government | 0:53:28 | 0:53:30 | |
but we are restless to do more. I'm
not sure fiddling the criteria of | 0:53:30 | 0:53:35 | |
how these things are measured is the
answer. We need more homes across | 0:53:35 | 0:53:38 | |
the board and I welcome her support
in that regard. Thank you, Mr | 0:53:38 | 0:53:43 | |
Speaker. My honourable friend has
already raised the issue of fairer | 0:53:43 | 0:53:47 | |
funding for Leicestershire County
Council. The county council are | 0:53:47 | 0:53:49 | |
broadly supportive of the
Government's consultation but does | 0:53:49 | 0:53:52 | |
the Minister agree that the overall
funding formula needs to be looked | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
at in detail because of the baseline
is not addressed Leicestershire will | 0:53:55 | 0:54:00 | |
still be falling behind other county
councils? Mr Speaker, I very much | 0:54:00 | 0:54:05 | |
agree with my Right Honourable
friend, that Leicestershire in | 0:54:05 | 0:54:08 | |
particular has done much work on
this, which will certainly feed into | 0:54:08 | 0:54:11 | |
the consultation on fairer funding
that is closing today. I also know | 0:54:11 | 0:54:15 | |
my honourable friend the housing
minister recently met with | 0:54:15 | 0:54:18 | |
Leicestershire and I would be happy
to meet with my honourable friend to | 0:54:18 | 0:54:21 | |
discuss this further. Patrick Grady.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Given the | 0:54:21 | 0:54:26 | |
importance of European Union
regional development funding across | 0:54:26 | 0:54:29 | |
the UK what discussions is the
Secretary of State having about | 0:54:29 | 0:54:33 | |
replacing this funding after Brexit?
Mr Speaker, we are having white | 0:54:33 | 0:54:38 | |
discussions with all departments
across government consulting on the | 0:54:38 | 0:54:43 | |
UK's Shared Prosperity Fund, which
crucially in a post-Brexit world | 0:54:43 | 0:54:46 | |
will deliver on Britain's priorities
when it comes to local growth | 0:54:46 | 0:54:49 | |
funding. Kevin Hollinrake. Thank
you, Mr Speaker. A recent report by | 0:54:49 | 0:54:54 | |
the campaign to protect rural
England says the viability | 0:54:54 | 0:54:56 | |
assessments favour large Donegal
arched developers of a small | 0:54:56 | 0:55:00 | |
developers and cut the number of
affordable homes by 50%. With the | 0:55:00 | 0:55:04 | |
Minister use the strongest possible
action to make sure SMEs compete on | 0:55:04 | 0:55:09 | |
a level playing field with large
builders and developers provide | 0:55:09 | 0:55:12 | |
homes for those most in need. My
honourable friend is absolutely | 0:55:12 | 0:55:17 | |
right and through our planning
reforms we are putting formal rigour | 0:55:17 | 0:55:20 | |
into the systems, both so plans,
planners are clear about the | 0:55:20 | 0:55:25 | |
allegations on infrastructure and
affordable houses but so that | 0:55:25 | 0:55:27 | |
developers can be properly held to
account in meeting those aspirations | 0:55:27 | 0:55:30 | |
and commitments. If the government
are serious about the Northern | 0:55:30 | 0:55:35 | |
Powerhouse and improving
connectivity between communities in | 0:55:35 | 0:55:37 | |
the north, does the Northern
Powerhouse Minister think that | 0:55:37 | 0:55:41 | |
trans-Pennine's plans to lengthen
journeys from Hull across the | 0:55:41 | 0:55:45 | |
Pennines and not turning up to a
meeting with the city's MPs and | 0:55:45 | 0:55:49 | |
business leaders last week to
discuss this, will help deliver his | 0:55:49 | 0:55:52 | |
plans for the Northern Powerhouse? I
think it's extremely disappointing | 0:55:52 | 0:55:57 | |
if trans-Pennine didn't turn up to a
meeting with members of Parliament | 0:55:57 | 0:56:01 | |
from the city of Hull. What I would
say, and I hope the Honourable Lady | 0:56:01 | 0:56:05 | |
will be encouraged that we are
investing £13 billion to put it in | 0:56:05 | 0:56:10 | |
context, more money than any
government in history, in our | 0:56:10 | 0:56:14 | |
northern transport infrastructure,
and on top of that we have set up | 0:56:14 | 0:56:17 | |
transport for the North, a sub
national transport body currently | 0:56:17 | 0:56:23 | |
consulting on a 30 year plan to
improve transport across the north | 0:56:23 | 0:56:26 | |
of England, and that is how you
deliver a Northern Powerhouse. Thank | 0:56:26 | 0:56:32 | |
you, Mr Speaker. With a chest to set
to displace a number of tenants | 0:56:32 | 0:56:35 | |
living in social housing in my
constituency, would my Right | 0:56:35 | 0:56:38 | |
Honourable friend consider whether
the rent act 1977, which obliges | 0:56:38 | 0:56:43 | |
councils to rehouse council tenants
whose homes are subject to | 0:56:43 | 0:56:46 | |
compulsory purchase orders, will
need amending to reflect the fact | 0:56:46 | 0:56:49 | |
the majority of social housing stock
is now owned by housing associations | 0:56:49 | 0:56:53 | |
rather than by local authorities? I
entirely understand the concern that | 0:56:53 | 0:57:00 | |
my honourable friend is sharing with
us. I hope I can give some | 0:57:00 | 0:57:03 | |
reassurance. I don't think there is
need to amend the 1977 act because | 0:57:03 | 0:57:09 | |
local authorities are already
obliged to consider those in need of | 0:57:09 | 0:57:12 | |
social housing through the Housing
Act 1996, so local authorities will | 0:57:12 | 0:57:15 | |
make appropriate non-Asians to
housing associations or offer | 0:57:15 | 0:57:19 | |
tenancies in their own stock. --
nominations to housing associations. | 0:57:19 | 0:57:29 | |
Given that the members for Reading
West and Nuneaton are not in their | 0:57:29 | 0:57:35 | |
former government posts, what has
happened to the consultation and the | 0:57:35 | 0:57:38 | |
timescale for action the government
promised my frustrated constituents? | 0:57:38 | 0:57:46 | |
It is a very important issue and we
are looking to see what more we can | 0:57:46 | 0:57:50 | |
do with the challenges it represents
and we are planning to publish a | 0:57:50 | 0:57:54 | |
consultation and will do so as soon
as possible. An article in the | 0:57:54 | 0:58:00 | |
Sunday Times yesterday highlighted
that we still have some councils | 0:58:00 | 0:58:02 | |
performing mass burials for babies
and I was appalled but research has | 0:58:02 | 0:58:08 | |
identified that despite campaign
efforts by colleagues across the | 0:58:08 | 0:58:11 | |
house and charities, we have not
been able to set up a children's | 0:58:11 | 0:58:14 | |
funeral fund, would you meet with me
to progress this? Mr speaker, you | 0:58:14 | 0:58:21 | |
are right to raise this, nothing can
be harder than losing a parent and | 0:58:21 | 0:58:25 | |
we must also be looking to see what
could be done to provide help, local | 0:58:25 | 0:58:30 | |
authorities provide help in many
ways but she is right to raise this | 0:58:30 | 0:58:33 | |
and I was also concerned by the
article she referenced and I will be | 0:58:33 | 0:58:36 | |
happy to meet with her. Every day is
a school day, especially when it | 0:58:36 | 0:58:43 | |
comes to parliamentary conventions.
Affordable housing and council | 0:58:43 | 0:58:49 | |
housing are not the same, will the
minister consider amending the | 0:58:49 | 0:58:54 | |
planning policy framework to enable
councils to specify in their | 0:58:54 | 0:58:57 | |
strategic plans different housing
types rather than mentioning | 0:58:57 | 0:59:02 | |
affordable and housing always on the
same breath? The honourable lady | 0:59:02 | 0:59:08 | |
makes an important point but if
she'd accept the detail of the new | 0:59:08 | 0:59:11 | |
revised national policy plan she
will see there is scope for the | 0:59:11 | 0:59:17 | |
distinction and I look forward to
her responses in support. Could I | 0:59:17 | 0:59:23 | |
ask the Secretary of State when we
are likely to get a decision on the | 0:59:23 | 0:59:26 | |
fantastic plans for expansion at
because way in my constituency? -- | 0:59:26 | 0:59:31 | |
at the Causeway. I don't know why
this is taken so long, because what | 0:59:31 | 0:59:37 | |
is there not to like about more jobs
and infrastructure. I should declare | 0:59:37 | 0:59:42 | |
an interest, I have been shopping
there many times, it is my mother 's | 0:59:42 | 0:59:52 | |
favourite place, but we are looking
at this in detail. It is relatively | 0:59:52 | 0:59:57 | |
complex but we will try to reach a
decision as quickly as possible. It | 0:59:57 | 1:00:02 | |
is useful to learn about minister's
domestic habits and we are grateful | 1:00:02 | 1:00:07 | |
for the minister providing further
information. | 1:00:07 | 1:00:09 | |
Northamptonshire County Council has
really -- recently gone bust, is | 1:00:12 | 1:00:19 | |
that because of incompetence? It
hasn't gone bust, but because of | 1:00:19 | 1:00:24 | |
concerns about their finances with
ago I appointed an independent | 1:00:24 | 1:00:27 | |
investigation into this, a best
value in inspection and the | 1:00:27 | 1:00:32 | |
inspector will report later this
week. I welcomed the government's | 1:00:32 | 1:00:39 | |
encouraging words on the need to
improve the funding for the upper | 1:00:39 | 1:00:42 | |
tiers but would the Secretary of
State welcome and congratulate | 1:00:42 | 1:00:49 | |
Conservative run Brock Stowe Borough
Council which has frozen its council | 1:00:49 | 1:00:52 | |
tax yet again while delivering
excellent services and reducing | 1:00:52 | 1:00:57 | |
rents by 1% and spending half £1
million on parks and open spaces, | 1:00:57 | 1:01:04 | |
and Labour and the Liberal Democrats
at Brookstone voted against this. | 1:01:04 | 1:01:10 | |
First of all come up I have to say
to my honourable friend, are not | 1:01:10 | 1:01:15 | |
surprised at the behaviour of Labour
and the Lib Dems, but I would warmly | 1:01:15 | 1:01:21 | |
welcomed the council in your
constituency by keeping taxes low | 1:01:21 | 1:01:26 | |
and quality high, and it is a
reminder that Conservative councils | 1:01:26 | 1:01:33 | |
cost you less but give you more. The
fact of the matter, I'm sure the | 1:01:33 | 1:01:40 | |
Secretary of State will agree, the
government has quite rightly | 1:01:40 | 1:01:44 | |
increased the standard and the cost
should be borne partly by the | 1:01:44 | 1:01:50 | |
freeholder and partly by the
leasehold and partly by the | 1:01:50 | 1:01:53 | |
government, why doesn't he get those
three together and do something | 1:01:53 | 1:01:56 | |
about it? We have made it clear that
when it comes to the private sector | 1:01:56 | 1:02:04 | |
and this type of remedial work, they
should take their lead from the | 1:02:04 | 1:02:05 | |
social sector and it is the moral
duty of any freeholder to meet any | 1:02:05 | 1:02:11 | |
necessary cost and there are a
number of legal issues, the legal | 1:02:11 | 1:02:15 | |
case that is very important to this
going to the courts right now, and | 1:02:15 | 1:02:20 | |
this is something we are keeping
under review. Councils in rural | 1:02:20 | 1:02:25 | |
areas have received a rule deal --
raw deal for many years, so in the | 1:02:25 | 1:02:39 | |
review, will be true cost of
services be delivered so that rural | 1:02:39 | 1:02:41 | |
areas get a fair deal? I know you
are a doughty champion of rural | 1:02:41 | 1:02:48 | |
areas and I'm pleased to say that
your point will be considered in the | 1:02:48 | 1:02:52 | |
fair funding formula and I'm sure he
will be heart and by the local | 1:02:52 | 1:02:55 | |
government financial settlement
where we increase the rural services | 1:02:55 | 1:02:59 | |
delivery grant to its highest level.
Three remaining questions, if each | 1:02:59 | 1:03:05 | |
of the three agree to ask a single
sentence question less than 20 | 1:03:05 | 1:03:10 | |
words. What can the minister do to
include broadband in that? We are | 1:03:10 | 1:03:21 | |
working with DC MS in doing just
that. He is not a lawyer for | 1:03:21 | 1:03:27 | |
nothing. Following Sunday Times
revelations about fraudulent | 1:03:27 | 1:03:32 | |
Grenfell aid claims, what more can
be done about this? I won't comment | 1:03:32 | 1:03:42 | |
on the particular claims, I'm sure
you will understand, but it is | 1:03:42 | 1:03:46 | |
important that the council and the
police are working together on any | 1:03:46 | 1:03:49 | |
such alleged failure. -- behaviour.
Rebecca pow. | 1:03:49 | 1:03:56 | |
Under the new garden status, Taunton
Deane is delivering well above the | 1:03:56 | 1:04:03 | |
average which the minister will
appreciate about the best way to | 1:04:03 | 1:04:10 | |
succeed is with the recent funding
formula bid put in with Somerset | 1:04:10 | 1:04:17 | |
Council? -- but the best way for the
yes. Pipe. | 1:04:17 | 1:04:24 |