Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill

Is the Minister aware that in my constituency the number of empty properties has been driven down...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and for his support for the measures in this Bill. I...

My hon. Friend is promoting a very welcome measure. Is he able to give the House any indication a...

If my hon. Friend will bear with me, I will be grateful for that little bit of patience and I wil...

I am not known for my patience.

You also should not test ours. [Laughter.]

As my hon. Friend mentioned, this measure will strengthen the incentive for owners to bring long-...

I absolutely support the measures the Minister is putting forward. Does he agree that in a town s...

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. She is absolutely right to say that the Government a...

The UK is going through a housing crisis. Does the Minister accept that one of the best ways of t...

The right to buy has helped thousands of young people, first-time buyers, up and down this countr...

Obviously, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am concerned about your latitude in allowing us to venture slight...

Or not.

Indeed, but I could not stay in my seat having heard that. Just this summer, the Government annou...

As always, my hon. Friend puts it well. He has the pulse of the people in his constituency; he kn...

Does the Minister agree that in addition to all the measures in the Bill, the Government must get...

I am not aware of the precise statistics for the Ministry of Defence, but in general we encourage...

The Minister says that he is empowering local authorities, but the Government refuse to have a re...

I will be careful not to stray too far from my brief, but the Under-Secretary of State for Housin...

I strongly welcome the Minister’s comments. There are a number of empty properties in my constitu...

I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that the powers that were introduced in 2013 have been taken ...

I am delighted to hear of the good work that is going on in Bolton and Kent, but I am obviously m...

I am always willing to learn from and listen to local authorities up and down the country. My hon...

As my hon. Friend has been kind enough to pay tribute to the development in Herne Bay, which is p...

I can see my diary filling up rapidly as the debate progresses, but I would be delighted to visit...

I promise not to invite the Minister to my constituency—although I stress that he is always very ...

As ever, my hon. Friend makes an insightful point. He has great experience in this area. Indeed, ...

I am interested in what the Minister says, and do not disagree with it, but I will say the same t...

Opening up a conversation about the redistribution of council tax is probably beyond the scope of...

Will the Minister come to Lancashire to encourage Lancashire County Council to give money back to...

I am always happy to visit all local authorities, and many of the authorities in Lancashire have ...

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I also ...

It is always a pleasure to take an intervention from my constituency neighbour, who represents wh...

Does my hon. Friend have any thoughts on empty dwelling management orders, which councils can use...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that empty dwelling management orders exist as a tool for coun...

Does the Minister agree that it is vital that landlords bring properties back into use? They shou...

I thank my hon. Friend not only for his intervention but for all his work on the Bill, as both an...

I sorry to ask the Minister this question; it is ignorance on my part. How do councils ascertain ...

That is a very thoughtful question. Every council takes a slightly different approach. An interes...

I thank the Minister for giving way again. One issue that has been brought to my attention as a l...

My hon. Friend raises a good point. Council housing is governed by a slightly different set of re...

I completely agree that it is in keeping with this legislation. It seems crazy that in this day a...

rose—

Order. The Minister has now taken up 50% of the time. It is only an hour’s debate, so I am concer...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have tried to take any interventions that have come my way from a...

I thank the Minister for paying tribute to my colleagues in the House of Lords who led on this am...

I agree that land banking should be looked into. The hon. Lady will be aware that my hon. Friend ...

It takes a very good education to be able to talk at length without saying much at all.

We ...

The hon. Gentleman says that the Government are doing nothing to tackle some of the issues on the...

If all we had was time, we could carry out an inquiry and a review every few months, but the fact...

The hon. Gentleman is being generous in giving way. Will he set out his party’s policies on rejuv...

Order. The debate is not about business rates.

The hon. Gentleman raised it.

I know. I have allowed Members to generalise. I do not want to narrow down what the shadow Minist...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will not abuse the purpose of the debate; I will stick to the Bil...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon). I draw...

I understand what the hon. Gentleman says, but does he not accept that there are cases in which p...

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman, which is why I am rather pleased that the Minister may ...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I give way with great pleasure to my hon. Friend, a fellow Home Office Parliamentary Private Secr...

My hon. Friend is making good points about flexibility and councils’ powers. The Minister referre...

My hon. Friend makes a telling point.

Order. We are drifting.

I was about to talk about flooding, Mr Deputy Speaker. Drifting and flooding may be linked.

Some might suggest a filibuster, but do carry on.

If anyone, Mr Deputy Speaker, were to suggest a filibuster, they would be challenging your author...

Order. You are drifting. Get on with it—come on.

Mr Deputy Speaker, you are robust.

I am enjoying it.

If I receive no other accolade in the House, to give enjoyment to my—

Order. We are not here to discuss accolades. We are going to discuss the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I was about to talk about natural disasters such as fire or flood. A house tha...

Does that not reinforce the importance of local authorities using their discretion before levying...

My hon. Friend strikes at the beating heart of my argument and the importance of that three-lette...

I am very much enjoying my hon. Friend’s speech. A fire in Paignton on Thursday affected a number...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In drawing on his extensive local government experience, he h...