Growth and Infrastructure Bill

I do not disagree with many of the hon. Gentleman’s points, but I still fail to understand—he wil...

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will understand, as I am sure he does, that the best chance of suc...

The hon. Gentleman makes the point—it is a legitimate point, but I happen to disagree with it—tha...

The biggest step someone takes when they start a small business is employing someone. They cease ...

My hon. Friend is describing very effectively the challenges facing a new small business. Does it...

I am not surprised that the hon. Member for Streatham, who speaks very eloquently, expresses his ...

One of the most significant features of the current recession has been the flexibility in the lab...

No responsible employer would ever relish the prospect of losing the experience that he has inves...

I want to make four simple, brief points. The first is about share ownership. I tabled amendments...

I agree with my hon. Friend’s point about workers in that situation, but we should also challenge...

I was going to make that point. There is an element of complexity in this scheme which will lead ...

On that point, the assumption has been made that all employees will opt for this status, but in m...

That leads on to my second point—I do not want to delay the House. This measure opens up the proc...

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that businesses throughout Britain have been laden down with re...

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, I disagree. We have heard this argument about th...

Did not the last intervention let the cat out of the bag? This is essentially about deregulating ...

It is, but I was trying to be a bit more subtle about the process of allegation—I appreciate that...

I want to speak briefly in support of my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) ...

I, too, would like to say a few words about this proposal of shares for rights. Of the various ty...

Order. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is interested in hearing a few seconds of reply. ...

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I shall end by saying that I hope the House will not support the Governmen...

With the leave of the House, I should like briefly to respond. I am afraid that we have had a fai...

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 7.

With this it will be convenient to discuss Lords amendments 1 to 6, 8 to 24 and 26 to 40.

I agree with amendments 1 to 6, 8 to 24 and 26 to 40, but I ask the House to support the motion t...

I thank the Secretary of State for announcing an important measure that will deal with the mischi...

I agree. It will ensure that important information is provided where it should be provided, withi...

I am sure my right hon. Friend agrees that the local government family is like the curate’s egg: ...

I do not know about the curate’s egg, but I have always regarded local government as an omelette ...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will, of course, give way to the right hon. Gentleman on the matter of omelettes.

Can the Secretary of State explain why, even at this stage, it was not possible to provide an exe...

Obviously we will provide the information when the regulations are laid. That is normal Governmen...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I must!

I stand by the words that my right hon. Friend quoted so eloquently earlier. There are certainly ...

I think that it would be best for my hon. Friend to wait until the omelette has started to settle...

I do not know about omelettes, but the Secretary of State is making a very soft-boiled case for s...

Order. We must have shorter interventions.

When I became Member of Parliament for Brentford and Ongar, my predecessor gave me a single file ...

rose—

If hon. Members will let me make a little progress, they will be able to hear what I am suggestin...

Article 4 directives are generally used for enforcing restrictions in conservation areas, which i...

This is a normal administrative process. I will check with my ministerial colleagues, but I belie...

I agree that to permit a local authority to opt out entirely from permitted development measures ...

Absolutely, and that is why we are looking towards Lord Taylor’s advice in respect of tweaking th...

Does my right hon. Friend accept that one reason why no compensation has been paid under article ...

I have enjoyed campaigning with the hon. Gentleman on other issues, but I have to say he is being...

rose—

I am about to use honeyed terms to try to placate my colleagues who have concerns, but before I g...

I do not want to keep my right hon. Friend from reaching that dramatic moment because I should ob...

rose—

rose—

And before the honeyed words arrive, I can think of nobody more appropriate to give way to than t...

I am still struggling with understanding why the Secretary of State is resisting amendment 7 and ...

Well, one might be concerned that this might be misrepresented as a money-raising exercise—a nice...

I would like a little more information. Will the Secretary of State give us his forecast of how m...

My right hon. Friend recognises that this represents a boost to industry. [Interruption.] I am so...

rose—

I feel that, somehow, I am returning to confrontational type, and I must avoid that, so let me sa...

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way, and I think that most of us have listened...

My hon. Friend has, in his succinct way, put the case better than I have.

I appreciate the seriousness with which the Secretary of State has considered the representations...

Of course, I am cut to the quick by my right hon. Friend’s remarks. She does not need to rely on ...

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way and welcome his decision to rethink the policy, but g...

Considering that I quoted a good page and a half from an excellent document that is, I hope, stil...

I hope that my right hon. Friend will take this as a helpful intervention. When I was shadow floo...

I well remember wandering through the flooding in my hon. Friend’s constituency, complete with we...

I appreciate the fact that the Secretary of State has come to the Chamber today and said that he ...

I am always glad to hear that it is not all about size; that is a comfort to me.

I thank my right hon. Friend for being most generous in giving way. In deciding what will happen ...

Absolutely. My hon. Friend the Planning Minister and my right hon. Friend the Minister—[Interrupt...

I think that the Secretary of State will recognise that the level of attendance in the House toda...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for not coddling me.

I am genuinely grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way, but had I heard his words from ...

I cannot imagine any circumstances in which permitted development rights would allow beds in shed...

I am really enjoying the Secretary of State’s performance this afternoon. I must say that the tho...

The solutions are available and my Back Benchers have come up with a number of ideas. It would be...

I came to the Chamber in the hope that the Secretary of State would give me some assurances that ...

As consensus goes, this is pretty damn dramatic. It is about as dramatic as consensus gets. I wil...

I take on board the Secretary of State’s point that the LGA has not provided him with sufficient ...

It has been noticeable that discussion in the Chamber is one-sided today. There is concern on the...

rose—

I shall give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke), bu...

I, too, would like more details about the direction of change. As most councils have extensive de...

I could not have put it better myself. I believe we can move together, arrive at a broad consensu...

I welcome the Government’s decision to accept all but one of the amendments that were passed in t...

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to consider his phraseology? The issue is not necessarily the ...

The hon. Lady makes an extremely important point. I was going to raise it in a moment, but I shal...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

Gladly, but the House will have noticed that the Secretary of State, who is responsible for this,...

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer this very simple question? Given his new-found concern for b...

I make no apology for having a brownfield-first policy when we were in government. One of the rea...

It is interesting that the right hon. Gentleman is referring to a key point in the debate—the 13%...

I shall be very clear. The reason I shall be going through the Lobby to vote against the Secretar...

As a former sous-chef in the Department, I have no doubt that if my right hon. Friend the Secreta...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

I will make some progress before giving way.

It is well known that throughout the history o...

The hon. Gentleman is very kind. I was going to ask him whether he thought that the policy was co...

There is a real issue in Newham and other parts of the country about developments in back gardens...

Does my hon. Friend not agree with me, however, that it would have been easier to persuade the Ho...

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I accept the basis on which he does so. Equally, ho...

My hon. Friend has vast experience in local government and in planning law. Does he agree that on...

I understand my hon. Friend’s genuine concerns—I do not doubt the good faith with which they are ...

The Select Committee looked at the Government’s proposals and we concluded that the case for the ...

I am not keen on this idea, and I have said so from an early stage, because there would be long-t...

I, too, welcome the work done in the other place. We have some very sensible amendments and I am ...

Many colleagues are minded to support the amendment but would like to support the Government. For...

In this of all weeks, it pains me to be considering voting for the amendment and against the Gove...

Regrettably, the only reason this proposal would have any economic benefit is that the scale of s...

I think that I can offer the reassurances that colleagues are seeking. It is not a question of si...

There are two key concerns here: first, the rights of local authorities; and secondly—

2.47...