Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Tuesday 8th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I will indeed. I thank my hon. Friend and other hon. Members, including members of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, which is doing an inquiry into this. If an industrial strategy is to endure in the long term, it needs to be rooted in as great a consensus as can be achieved around it, and of course that will include contributions from Members of this House, and organisations and individuals outside it. I will engage them in those discussions over the months ahead.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

T9. Thousands of Marks & Spencer staff will be worried this morning by the announcement of the threat of closure facing 60 branches that have not been identified. In the light of the disgraceful treatment of BHS staff, what more can the Minister do to encourage Marks & Spencer to consult and engage fully with staff trade unions at the earliest opportunity?

Hinkley Point C

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Thursday 15th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I will indeed. We want to have good investment opportunities for countries around the world, and China has been an important and valued source of investment right across the United Kingdom. It is important that we build on that.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

In the light of the announcement today, is the Secretary of State now admitting that when the Government entered into the original contract, they failed to protect national security and critical infrastructure?

[Greg Clark]

Despite the injunction of the hon. Lady’s colleague on the Front Bench, the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner), I can tell her that taking the opportunity seriously to review these matters before signatures were given has allowed us to improve the security of the arrangements. That seems to be a wholly good thing that I hope she will welcome.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the effect on local authority budgets of social care costs.

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)]

The spending review provided up to £3.5 billion of funding to help to meet the demographic pressures on social care—more than the £2.9 billion that local government and the directors of adult social services estimated was needed in their submission to the spending review.

[Diana Johnson]

Social care in Hull is facing a perfect storm, and GPs tell me that it is starting to impact on hospitals. We have had the deepest cuts in local government since 2010, and the national living wage is adding to costs. Will the Secretary of State accept the clear evidence of a growing funding gap that outstrips the social care levy, and that it is worst in areas of greatest and rising demand?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Lady never misses a chance to be miserable about Hull, a great city that is on the rise. Hull has benefited to the tune of nearly £7 million a year from the local government settlement—it is one of the biggest gainers in the country. The last time she made that point, the leader of her council wanted not to take what she said at face value, and said:

“I do wish people would stop talking the city down. There is so much going on here…and a lot to look forward to.”

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

What assessment have Ministers made of councils that introduce a 2% precept increase for social care? For those councils with a very low council tax base, that will not result in the funding required to ensure that social care continues at the level it should in areas such as Hull.

[Greg Clark]

Part of the settlement that was made in the spending review was to include this new council tax precept in addition to the better care fund. On top of the resources that councils already invest, we will be able to invest more than the Local Government Association requested for social care in advance of the spending review.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. There have been representations in the past to include parish and town councils in the referendum principles. We have not done that, but we keep it under review so that there is economy in those councils, which is important, because their residents are also council tax payers who pay council tax to his county council.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Hull is the 10th most deprived area in the country, and over the next year it faces spending cuts on average nearly 50% greater than those faced by county councils, so will the Secretary of State explain to my constituents why county councils are getting additional moneys, but not areas such as Hull?

[Greg Clark]

County councils and other authorities in the first two years experienced sharper reductions in the revenue support grant, and representations across local government, including Labour authorities, suggested that we should ease the transition. I would say to the hon. Lady’s constituents in Hull that much attention has been paid to that important city through the growth deal that we established, which invested substantially in the area. The prospect of further devolution offers more important opportunities for that city.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Greg Clark

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I will indeed. I note the leadership that my hon. Friend has shown in, and with, his community in responding to those conditions. We are determined to ensure that things are put right with the greatest dispatch, and we are working closely with the authorities throughout the area. The funds that have been made available so far will allow an assessment of what is required for restoration to be made, which will be followed by the repairs themselves.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Does the Secretary of State think it is right that the Government are helping new people buy their own home under the Help to Buy scheme, but those very same people will not be eligible for flood insurance under Flood Re, which his Government are introducing in April?

[Greg Clark]

The negotiation with the insurance companies has been very clear: we want to make sure that everyone in the country can benefit from the insurance that gives them peace of mind when they buy a new property.