Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 8th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T7. Over the summer, a disabled pensioner in my constituency received a parking penalty notice after his car had suffered a puncture. His car was pushed to the side of the road by good Samaritans, and when he got out of his car to go into the premises of a firm to find some people to help him to change the tyre, a traffic warden came along and gave him a parking ticket. Ealing council refused to cancel the ticket. [Laughter.] The council has exercised no discretion at all. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is outrageous?

[Mr Pickles]

I must say that I was very shocked to hear the laughter from the Opposition Benches. I think it is a disgrace that the full panoply of the state should fall on a disabled person in this way. I urge Ealing council to look at the file again right now, to rescind the parking ticket, and to treat that disabled person with a degree of respect.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 21st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T4. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his initiatives to ease the cost of parking on our high streets. Does he agree that one of the simplest ways for local authorities to operate is to offer 30 minutes of free parking on roads outside shops, as that will revitalise our neighbourhood centres?

[Mr Pickles]

My hon. Friend will recall that under the previous Government, councils were urged to put up car parking charges and to make it difficult for people to bring cars into town centres. As I said earlier, I know from personal experience that the policy he suggests makes a difference. If we are to protect our town centres, particularly our smaller shops, this is exactly the kind of measure that needs to be introduced, and those councils that do not do so are failing in their duty.

Growth and Infrastructure Bill

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I think that I can offer the reassurances that colleagues are seeking. It is not a question of simply taking my word for it, regarding me as a good egg, or whatever. The simple truth is that this proposal has got to come back here to be discussed and voted on. I need the help and assistance of colleagues to ensure that the proposal is voted down. If we do not vote it down, we cannot arrive at a consensus. This would be a wholly unusual and strange process. It would take a sledgehammer to planning system, and that is wholly wrong. I believe that we can give the assurances that my hon. Friends seek, but we need some time to discuss this with right hon. and hon. Members, and then, whatever the outcome, it will come back here on 23 April; that is certain. I ask my hon. Friends to look most carefully at this issue, to support the Government, and, by so doing, to support the rights of property owners and local authorities.

[Bob Blackman]

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

Local Government Finance

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

The mets benefit considerably from this settlement. The right hon. Gentleman is a serious Member of this House and deserves a serious answer. He will recall that the reduction in police funding was front-loaded and that that for firefighters and emergency services was back-loaded. One of the reasons why we have set up the Knight review is to arrive at that equilibrium and to offer fire authorities some help in that process.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I welcome today’s statement. Local authorities all over the country have no excuse whatsoever for increasing council tax. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that this settlement has sufficient funding to ensure that every council tax payer can look forward to a freeze this year and that local authorities should seek to maximise their resources for the benefit of their residents?

[Mr Pickles]

That is certainly the case. We are talking about a 2% trigger for a referendum. Local authorities can go for whatever figure they want, but they will have to face the people. We are offering 1% to local authorities, if they can get it down to that. Essentially, for those that want to increase council tax below 2%, we are talking about less than 1%. That seems to be a very dubious case, given that we are making it absolutely clear that this money is in the base.

Growth and Infrastructure Bill

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 5th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I think that is precisely how we got into this problem. That is why we are looking to developers and local authorities to work together in open negotiation and, to use the words of the hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones), to be much more competition and market-oriented. We want to get a degree of realism into the process.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Pickles]

I give way for the final time.

[Bob Blackman]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is not just the targets on the percentage of affordable housing and the mix of dwellings, including flats, that are important? The targets on design, density and everything else that goes with it are crippling the market right now. Those decisions were taken years ago, when the housing boom was at its height.

[Mr Pickles]

My hon. Friend makes a reasonable point. I want to make it clear that we do not want to go back to the bad old days when we were doing swaps. I think we should be building real communities, which means that there should be a mixture of market houses and social houses. That is the way real communities live together. To get that mix right and to get social housing moving, we need, again in the words of the hon. Member for Warrington North, greater competition and a much more market-oriented approach.

Our approach is working. Official figures show that more affordable housing is being provided under the coalition Government than under Labour. On average, a third more affordable housing has been built every year than during Labour's last decade.

Local authorities have an important role in promoting development and shaping where it should go.

Local Government Finance Bill

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I feel a little stung because I have always been most helpful to the right hon. Gentleman.

Clause 1 deals with the local retention of the non-business rate and provides for the framework of the rate retention scheme in England by inserting a new schedule 7B into the Local Government Finance Act 1988. Clause 2, on the revenue support grant, gives effect to schedule 2, dealing with the amendment of provisions about revenue support grant in England. Clause 3, on additional grant, amends the 1988 Act to remove the provision for the Secretary of State to pay additional grant to local authorities in England. It also makes consequential amendments to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Clause 4, on the local government grant, amends section 100 of the 1999 Act so that from 1 April 2013 the Secretary of State may pay a general grant to the Greater London authority for a financial year but will not be required to do so. I think that that covers the point, although we could go through the entire Bill—there are only 16 clauses.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way on this key issue. One of the key concerns for people raising additional business rates in the future will be that they gain from the benefit of that growth. I welcome that proposal. However, there is another problem. Will he confirm that if a major employer or site of employment closes down within the first two years of operation, the local authority will not lose the business rate income?

[Mr Pickles]

My hon. Friend raises an important point about the very nature of business rates. There is a high degree of buoyancy within the system and there can be sudden movements, particularly where firms move out and following claims for revaluation, which is why we have built into the system adjustments to iron out those things. We have suggested to local authorities— but it will be entirely a matter for them—that they pool their resources in order to get over those fluctuations.

I shall move from the incentive effect to another aspect of the Bill: the introduction of tax increment finance. This was recommended in the 2006 Barker report and promised in the 2009 pre-Budget report but never delivered by Labour. For the first time, councils will have the ability to borrow safely and sustainably against the anticipated increase in business rates. That will give them a new means by which to fund infrastructure, attract investors and secure jobs for local people.

We are determined that the transition to the new system should be effective, fair and workable. Over the summer, we consulted widely, and we heard loud and clear that small firms, charities and voluntary groups, which play such an important role in local life, should not face adverse changes to their bills. Local firms can rest assured that this is not a means of increasing their bills by stealth; rather it is a measure to help local businesses. The Bill also proposes a replacement for council tax benefit.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

Yes, it is going to do better out of this system, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will get those on his Front Bench behind the process, because the system is designed to ensure that proud cities such as Liverpool no longer have to rattle the begging bowl. They can bring more money and resources in, and the people of Liverpool are the ones who will benefit.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Today’s announcement has been long awaited. I commend my right hon. Friend on the steps that he is taking, but will he answer one question? If councils or local authorities want to encourage start-up businesses, will they be able to develop their own schemes to allow payment holidays on business rates, to enable them to encourage growth and enterprise in their areas?

[Mr Pickles]

The answer is yes—[Interruption]—although, as the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Andrew Stunell) says from a sedentary position, they will have to pay for it. My hon. Friend and I have long talked about how to regenerate local authorities, moving them forward and giving them some pride. This is a day to celebrate, and the Localism Bill enables such reform to take place. Indeed, such reform is the clearest example of the other side of the Localism Bill: giving people independence through finance. That is something that we should celebrate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 28th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I am always glad to congratulate my hon. Friend’s council and have no hesitation in doing so today.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in condemning Labour-run Brent council, which at tonight’s budget meeting proposes to close six libraries and all its day care centres, introduce fortnightly refuse collections, and hammer street cleansing and the voluntary sector, while taking the £2.5 million grant that was meant to freeze council tax and applying it to balances?

[Mr Pickles]

What a tragic council that is. All it needs to do is take a short ride on the tube to see adjoining authorities in London that are protecting libraries, expanding their services and protecting the front line. No doubt it will get its come-uppance.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely wrong. Bolsover will receive the full protection of the 8.9% cap in terms of its total spending power. That is a substantial difference—[Interruption.] He chunters, but we have opted for a measure regarded as desirable by the Local Government Association and his Front-Bench team a week ago. He should not blame the method just because it has not delivered the kind of bloody stumps that Labour Members wanted.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Local authorities all over the country will welcome the £200 million set aside to transform back-office functions and cut bureaucracy, but they will be concerned about how they can access the money. Will my right hon. Friend confirm the £200-million figure and state how local authorities can access it, so that we can see those reductions in bureaucracy and the transformation of the system?

[Mr Pickles]

They will gain access in precisely the same way they have gained access this year and in previous years: they will bid for an amount. No authority has ever received 100% so the £200 million will be apportioned on a percentage basis. I look forward to receiving applications from authorities throughout the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would congratulate the coalition Government. We recognise that a number of authorities are more dependent on grant than others. We face a particularly difficult task in relation to Rochdale, as we must bridge just short of £6 million that the Labour Government took from the working neighbourhoods fund, but we will certainly seek to provide that cushion. My advice to the hon. Gentleman is “Go back to Rochdale, put a bit of lead in their pencil, and let them get on with protecting front-line services rather than fighting among themselves.”

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree, on the basis of the representations that he has received from local authorities, that every progressive authority in the country will have planned for the reductions in expenditure? Does he intend to ensure that councils are able to freeze council tax following the years of rapid increases under Labour?

[Mr Pickles]

Absolutely. What was going to happen to local government was well showcased. It was clear from the previous Chancellor’s statement in autumn 2009 and the Budget earlier this year, before the general election, that at least £5 billion was coming out of local authorities and that that would be front-loaded. I would therefore expect prudent local authorities and prudent chief executives to have taken the necessary precautions.

Audit Commission

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Tuesday 7th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

Given that 30% of all audit functions in public bodies are now in the private sector, I suspect that it will make no difference.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I am very pleased to hear the Secretary of State’s announcement. I am also pleased to hear that these contracts will be rotated. However, one of the things we will all want to see is vigour in the process and expertise built up. What regulation or guidance will be issued on the length of contracts to ensure not only that a cosy arrangement does not grow up between auditors, but that expertise can be built up to speed up the process and reduce costs?

[Mr Pickles]

My hon. Friend is quite right to wish to ensure that there is a rigorous regime. He is also right to warn about the consequences of auditors remaining within a particular local authority for too long; it is always important to have a fresh eye. We will be looking to the National Audit Office and the professions to build up a very rigorous regime that will last and will pass the test of time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Bob Blackman

Thursday 10th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

9. If he will bring forward proposals to increase the powers of local authorities to prevent infill and garden development.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

15. If he will bring forward proposals to increase the powers of local authorities to prevent infill and garden development.

[Mr Pickles]

Further to the coalition agreement, the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), who has responsibilities for decentralisation and planning, gave notice to the House that we are changing planning guidance and that we have taken back gardens out of the definition of brownfield land. In addition, we have removed density requirements. The matter is now for local people to decide.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Matthew Offord is not here, so I call Bob Blackman.

[Bob Blackman]

In Harrow East, the decision to safeguard gardens will be warmly welcomed, but another problem remains: unscrupulous developers whose planning application is turned down by councillors at local level, but who then appeal. What proposals are there to prevent the overturning of local planning decisions on appeal?

[Mr Pickles]

I understand what my hon. Friend is saying. We are determined to ensure that planning remains local, but of course an applicant’s right to appeal against a decision will remain.