Winter Floods
Debate between Lord Pickles and David Rutley(10 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Pickles
We regularly talk to the insurance industry. The Water Bill will go some way towards providing reassurance. Its passage through Parliament will show that we have agreed to continue to abide by the commitments under the 2008 statement of principles. The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall, has just whispered to me that if my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Dame Angela Watkinson) has a particular point in mind, he would be happy to deal with it.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
I welcome the statement today. Looking beyond the current situation, can my right hon. Friend tell the House what plans the Government have to speak to countries like s Denmark and the Netherlands about how we can share experience in managing flood risks in the future?
Mr Pickles
Dutch companies, not surprisingly, are already in contact with us about the levels, and as the Dutch built them, they are probably in the best position to help us out.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and David Rutley
Mr Pickles
Of course, that is because Bolton receives an enormous grant from the Government.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
T9. In the week of the anniversary of the emergency Budget, what additional steps is my right hon. Friend’s Department taking to help the Government to achieve their fiscal mandate?
Mr Pickles
We have delivered a good settlement for local government; we are looking to reduce our own Department, including reducing at the top and reducing numbers; and we are looking to extend that by offering help on growth, on enterprise zones and on local partnerships for growth. This Department has changed enormously over the past year by becoming pro-growth and helpful to local communities, offering power to local government and ensuring that ordinary people do not face a big increase in council tax.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and David Rutley
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
21. What mechanisms his Department is using to achieve efficiency savings in its budget for 2011-12.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
My Department will deliver efficiency savings in the next financial year by driving down our core running costs and through key contracts that have been renegotiated. This is expected to deliver efficiency savings of around £11 million: £4.2 million from information technology, £6.5 million from buildings and £0.6 million from facilities management.
David Rutley
I welcome the steps that the Secretary of State is taking to realise efficiency savings and improve accountability and transparency. Does my right hon. Friend agree that more must be done to create a real value-for-money culture in more local councils in the country, and that that aim should feature more strongly in public servants’ objectives so that it is reflected in their work in the communities and for council tax payers?
Mr Pickles
My hon. Friend makes a reasonable point. It is particularly important for my Department to take a lead. That is why we have been so keen to reduce the central costs of our budgets and to take a lead in reorganising the Department to recognise its changing role, whereby it no longer dictates to local government, but tries to enable more power to go to local communities.
Local Government Finance
Debate between Lord Pickles and David Rutley
Mr Pickles
The hon. Gentleman says, “Oh it’s the banks”. Big Government, with unsustained borrowing, got us into the mess. Labour Members must take their fair share of guilt and blame for that.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
In Macclesfield, we are fortunate to have the wonderful Bollington leisure centre, which is run by the community for the community. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that success story clearly shows what local communities will be able to do under the powers of the Localism Bill?
Mr Pickles
My hon. Friend clearly shows what localism can do, and the Localism Bill will ensure that more communities can do that. He will have noticed the scoffing on the Labour Benches about ordinary people banding together to protect a community facility. We have to emphasise that it does not have to be owned by the state to be used by the community. My hon. Friend clearly demonstrates the future; Labour Members demonstrate the past.