Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

I am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman.

I thank the Secretary of State. The hon. Gentleman is a senior Member of the House. It does not s...

Yes, and if the Secretary of State will give way, that is even better.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for withdrawing his non-point of order. I hand the Floor back to the S...

I understand that the hon. Gentleman wishes to intervene; I am delighted to give way.

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. Clause 83(2) proposes a new section 38(5C) to the ...

It has always been the NPPF’s function to have those national policies, which have been agreed an...

On the issue of viability that the Secretary of State has just raised, how does the Bill seek to ...

The reason for the infrastructure levy is that it ensures a local authority can set, as a fixed p...

The Secretary of State will be aware that, at the moment, someone can build tens of thousands of ...

I am absolutely confident it will be better, but my hon. Friend makes a very important point, whi...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I am anxious to make just a wee bit more progress, because I am conscious that there are lots of ...

The Secretary of State is being generous with his time. This is about the infrastructure levy and...

The way the levy is going to operate will mean that, if the development value—the value uplift—fo...

rose —

rose —

Ah, yes—brilliant! I give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spence...

I thought there was going to be a bit of a fight there over who would intervene. I thank my right...

Yes. The reason I was so pleased to be able to give way to my hon. Friend and constituency neighb...

Will my right hon. Friend give way ?

Oh, yes. I do beg my hon. Friend’s pardon.

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. Just before he entirely leaves the iss...

My hon. Friend is getting me on to a subject that I have often touched on in the past, which is t...

Wow! Yes, I give way to my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox).

Will my right hon. Friend go further for the sake of clarity, and make sure that there is, if not...

Exactly right—my right hon. Friend is spot-on. We do need to have a more sophisticated way of ass...

In Wolverhampton, we have developed right up to my northern boundary, which borders South Staffor...

Absolutely. First, my hon. Friend’s constituents could not have a better champion. Secondly, gree...

I am happy to give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst) and...

On the issue of constraints, can my right hon. Friend give us some further detail about whether t...

Again, a variety of factors can be part of a sound local plan. Indeed, at the moment, permitted d...

The Secretary of State is making a great argument on solving some of the flaws in the system. He ...

I am shocked—shocked, I tell you—that a Liberal Democrat authority does not have a plan in place ...

On the Isle of Wight, we are separated by sea from the mainland. Our local building industry buil...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I think it is the case that the thinker who coined the p...

rose—

Talking about sensible and sensitive, I give way to my right hon. Friend.

The Secretary of State is saying much that suggests that he believes we should rein in the Planni...

I will say two things. First, I hope to work constructively with Back Benchers across all parties...

I am conscious that lots of people want to speak in the debate. I will accept interventions from ...

Order. The Secretary of State has just said what I was hoping he would say, so I do not have to s...

I give way to the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western).

The Secretary of State is being generous. On housing and the constraint of local authorities, in ...

Let me reflect on that in Committee.

I am interested in what the Secretary of State has said about the re-emphasis on the environmenta...

I cannot comment on a specific planning application for reasons that the hon. Gentleman knows wel...

As the Secretary of State knows, York also has a Liberal Democrat-run council, and the challenge ...

I have a lot of sympathy for the hon. Lady and the situation in which she finds herself. I know t...

The Secretary of State was asking for good ideas on things that have been missed in the Bill. On ...

Well, this is a first. It is the first time—certainly in the last seven years—that there has been...

The Secretary of State is a born performer and he was clearly having fun today. I was glad for hi...

rose —

I will give way in a moment.

In 19 of the last 20 years, only two regions of our country ha...

The hon. Lady said that, under the Conservative Government, there has been a lack of investment i...

That was a superb audition for the forthcoming reshuffle and I am sure we will hear many more of ...

It is this Conservative Government who have invested £56 million in the levelling-up fund, £31.7 ...

That was a fantastic audition for the Secretary of State’s job, but I cannot imagine, based on th...

My hon. Friend is making an incredibly powerful speech. Does she share my disappointment about th...

My hon. Friend is an outstanding advocate for her community and we on the Front Bench absolutely ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I certainly will, but I ask the Secretary of State: did he have knowledge of this? Did he sign it...

The hon. Lady completely misunderstands and she gets it completely wrong. Several years ago, the ...

Of course I will give the hon. Member the opportunity—[ Interruption. ]

Order. Order! That means sit down. This is a very sensitive point and I want to hear what the hon...

I of course gave the hon. Member the right of reply, but I am quoting literally and directly a qu...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is a very serious allegation. Corruption has been...

This is a serious allegation. I am not in a position right now to weigh up one side of the argume...

Out of deference to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, of course I will rephrase my words in a manner tha...

I take exception to what the hon. Lady said. How dare she suggest that Government Members are not...

The hon. Member absolutely has a right to challenge me on my comments, and so have her constituen...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I will not give way—[ Interruption. ]

Order. Mr Gullis, stop it!

I do not need to dwell on the point about a lack of respect; we have just seen the most stunning ...

rose—

No, we have heard plenty from the hon. Member and it is about time that he listened.

We wer...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I seek your advice on how we can continue to have ...

I am perfectly capable of working that one out for myself—thank you very much.

Areas can get consolidation of local transport funding. They can get a role in designing and deli...

I am listening very carefully to the hon. Lady, who, to be frank, is painting a picture of doom a...

The right hon. Gentleman talks about doom gloom around the north of England, but I have just told...

Why did the people of the north-east turn down Labour’s policy of elected regional government, an...

Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman could ask the Secretary of State that question, because it was h...

rose —

If I am not mistaken, my hon. Friend is about to raise one of them, so I give way to him.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. She is absolutely right to highlight the very poo...

I agree with my hon. Friend, who reminds us that we have had 12 long years without real action to...

I want to make a couple of very simple points. First, the constituents of the hon. Member for Rea...

Hear, hear!

Given all the chuntering and chuckling among the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues, I did not catch t...

Order. It will be obvious to everyone in the Chamber that a great many people wish to speak this ...

I am grateful to have caught your eye in this very important debate, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, because I have only four minutes.

Given the enabling power in the Bill to imple...

I call the SNP spokesman, Patricia Gibson.

2.48 pm

I wish I could say that I was optimistic about the impact of the Bill, but the fact is that this ...

A friend of mine, while raising money for Shelter, the housing charity, ran the London marathon d...

The principle of levelling up is absolutely right, and it is one that is shared across the House....

I greatly welcome the change of tone from the Minister and Secretary of State in recent weeks; th...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), and I part...

Since 1996, 22,317 houses have been built in North Somerset compared with a target of 24,687, whi...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not give way because so many colleagues want to take part.

The next issue is the gre...

I had looked forward to this Bill, so it is disappointing that the opportunity seems to have been...

The hon. Gentleman asks an important question. At the very least, the Bill should match what the ...

I agree. Rural communities such as mine are being completely overlooked, in terms of both funding...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will continue. I am aware of the time, and other people want to speak.

The enforcement of...

There is much in the Bill that I welcome, such as digitising the planning system, tackling land b...

rose —

I am sorry, but I am unable to give way.

This radical change departs from a long-establishe...

Would a community right of appeal not be a good addition to what my right hon. Friend is setting ...

Yes, I think we should seriously consider that.

The Secretary of State seems to accept the ...

I think that what unites us across the House is an ambition to avoid the postcode where someone i...

I have a lot of respect for the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy)—she is not in her place but wi...

I would rather not give way as I have only one minute—

rose—

Okay, I give way.

I know the hon. Gentleman was desperate to get an extra minute. He is making a really impassioned...

Order. We need short interventions, because there are many people who wish to speak.

The hon. Lady makes a very good point. She will probably have to wait 10 to 15 years. There will ...

The purpose of power is to bring transformation, with transformation of communities delivering tr...

My right hon. Friend the Minister knows through our many conversations about planning that there ...

I am going to ask the question, “What does levelling up actually mean?” My hon. Friend the Member...

In Wokingham, there are thousands of permissions outstanding to build new homes, and thousands of...

I am glad to speak as a Welsh MP after that. This Bill should be read in the light of the Public ...

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will answer the many questions people raise about what lev...

In my constituency, levelling-up is more than just a buzzword. Communities like mine have borne t...

I very much welcome the aims and missions of the Bill on education, skills, health and wellbeing,...

There can be no levelling up in the UK until there is a restoration of funding for the public ser...

The Bill focuses on three things that are close to my heart and the hearts of many Members: level...

The Government’s levelling-up White Paper states :

“While talent is spread equally across o...

Would the hon. Lady like to finish?

It is fine—don’t worry. They don’t want to hear it.

I call Angela Richardson.

4.26 pm

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will be delighted to know that I will stick to my time.

When the Prime Minister staggered out of Monday’s no-confidence vote, he and his remaining allies...

This morning I learned the very sad news that a 51-year-old constituent, a father of four childre...

Despite the talk of investing in and empowering local communities through the process, this Bill,...

I want to start by addressing the many positives in this Bill that will make a significant differ...

With average wages, education levels and some health outcomes lower than elsewhere in the south-e...

I welcome many things in this Bill, from the setting up of levelling-up missions through to the p...

I support the Government’s commitment to levelling up, to boosting jobs, to boosting our high str...

There is much in this Bill that I welcome, and a just a few caveats. Let me start with the caveat...

For too long, communities in Rushcliffe have felt that the planning system is not on their side. ...

I welcome parts of this Bill, which has the great potential to improve the planning system, but I...

I start by putting on record my thanks to the brilliant London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who has been de...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill is seriously lacking on the question of affordability, an...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. If we are not committed to building genuinely affordable...

The Bill is clearly a significant piece of legislation and the centrepiece of the Government’s po...

Levelling up is a great ambition—definitely the right thing to be doing—and I applaud the Governm...

If anywhere reflects the Government’s focus on levelling up, it is Stoke-on-Trent. After decades ...

Does my hon. Friend share my view that it is really annoying that the shadow Cabinet keeps poppin...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is vital that we talk up our city and all the fantastic ...

I very much welcome the Bill and its Second Reading today. It is great to see the Minister in his...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I welcome so much of this levelling up Bill. I will add...

I remind everybody that if they have participated in the debate, they should be here for the wind...

Doncaster needs levelling up. We have had a superb start with levelling up round one, and city st...

I am glad to speak to this Bill and also to follow my hon. Friends the Members for Don Valley (Ni...

The hon. Gentleman makes some good points on housing, but I have just been given some figures by ...

I am glad to answer that question, but just to finish what I was going to say earlier, I commend ...

Levelling up is the core mission of this Government. It was certainly a mission that resonated wi...

In my 16 years as a councillor and as a Member of Parliament, I have never met a nimby in my cons...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on a Bill that is at the heart of the Conservative party...

I am grateful to be given the opportunity to speak in today’s debate. I want to focus particularl...

Needless to say I support the Bill, and in the brief time available to me I shall focus on some s...

At the heart of this Bill, which I welcome on behalf of Southend West, is reversing geographical ...

I represent an entirely coastal constituency. Does the hon. Lady agree that it is an absolute tra...

No, I do not accept that at all. My understanding is that regions have had just as much money as ...

I warmly welcome this Bill, particularly the 12 missions that are being put on a statutory footin...

It is a pleasure and a privilege to speak on Second Reading of the Levelling-up and Regeneration ...

It is a pleasure to close this debate on behalf of the Opposition. When it comes to levelling up,...

One of those missions relates to healthcare. It was the Labour Government before 2010 who closed ...

I will always think carefully about the contributions the hon. Gentleman makes, but I am afraid t...

I want to raise with my hon. Friend an issue about local democracy and local plans, which the hon...

I thank my hon. Friend for that important point. There are 200 clauses in this Bill, so if there ...

It is my pleasure to deliver the closing speech on Second Reading of the Government’s Levelling U...

Could the Minister say a word about how he will use the missions to drive the reduction of inequa...

The right hon. Gentleman will have seen that, as the Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, H...

My right hon. Friend rightly points out that planning often leads to a heated debate in this Cham...

My hon. Friend is challenging me to expose my parliamentary expertise, but this is really in the ...

Part of the problem we face—for example, in an area where there are small local district councils...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. He knows—we have had a number of conversation...

The Minister will know that Stockport, which is one of the two councils that covers my constituen...

The hon. Member knows that I cannot comment on individual plans. [ Interruption. ] The hon. Membe...

In addition to second homes, we have the challenge of Airbnbs, which of course the Bill does not ...

In fact, I had a meeting just this morning to talk about that very issue. I will report back in d...

The Minister is being very generous in giving way. I concur with the hon. Member for York Central...

I am keen to ensure that we get it right. Of course I will consider it, because I want to ensure ...

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. He will have heard what I said in my speech about t...

I certainly make that commitment. My hon. Friend raised that point with me earlier this afternoon...

Will the Minister say something in his summing up on the points that I and my hon. Friend the Mem...

I hope my hon. Friend saw the enthusiastic nodding on the Front Bench, which will give him the re...

I thank the Minister for giving way. He has not responded to the point raised by my hon. Friend t...

Yes, there will be, and it will come at the second stage of Committee.

The Minister talked about building the homes that communities want and need, and he made a commit...

No, I will not.

As I said, these new freedoms will help communities to repurpose and redesi...