Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Foster of Bath and Tristram Hunt

Monday 18th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Foster]

As the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), has said, some 500 communities are already availing themselves of the opportunities provided by neighbourhood planning. We have made additional funds available to take the scheme forward, and he will be aware of the exciting developments that are really putting communities back in control of what is happening in their local areas.

[Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab)]

T9. Contrary to the Minister’s answer, the national planning policy framework is proving to be an all-too-predictable fiasco—not least because we predicted it would be. The lack of sequential planning has put greenfield sites above brownfield regeneration, endangering cities and countryside alike. When will Ministers rethink this disastrous strategy, stop the sprawl, revive our cities and promote affordable homes?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Foster of Bath and Tristram Hunt

Monday 12th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Foster]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his campaign to achieve that success for his constituents. The money available is £10,000, and some of the 300 successful towns have already received those funds. If the cheque is not quite in the post, I assure him that it will be fairly soon.

[Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab)]

Are not the Government’s attempts to revive town centres undone by the appalling Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which allows major out-of-town retail parks to be designated of national significance? When will we have clear guidance and joined-up thinking on our town centres?

[Mr Foster]

The hon. Gentleman is simply wrong. The national planning policy framework has a clear “town centre first” policy, and the Department is putting a large amount of funding into measures such as the Portas pilots schemes—and many others—to provide support for our town centres. The Government are supporting town centres, which have experienced real problems given the disastrous situation in which this country’s economy was left.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Lord Foster of Bath and Tristram Hunt

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Foster]

I will not give way because I want to make progress.

I was pleased with the comments of my hon. Friend the Minister because he was able to put at the heart of what the Government are doing some of the really important work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He showed how the work being done there can help to deliver the growth in the economy that is really necessary, particularly in relation to the creative industries. As he said—and I am grateful to the deputy leader of the Labour party for agreeing—we have in this country some of the brightest and best people working in our creative industries. We need to give them as much support as we can. Even before the Budget, work had been done to try to achieve that, such as the establishment of the creative industries council, which is already making valuable recommendations on the skills and training needs of the sector.

[Tristram Hunt]

Is the right hon. Gentleman happy that as a result of the tuition fees introduced by his Government, we are seeing a massive collapse in the numbers studying modern languages, humanities and the creative industries?