Anti-Semitic Attacks

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Pickles (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests. The Jew haters and the women-despising thugs who threatened murder and sexual violence on our streets brought great shame to our nation. At the first chance, they exposed the thin veneer between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Does my noble friend share my sadness that many of the car convoys of violence came from my native city of Bradford, a city that has a proud record of co-operation between communities, not least through the Near Neighbours programme? Does he agree that we cannot allow the men of violence to define the relationship between communities? Will he commit to measures that combine strict policing and a strong social cohesion? We must, as a priority, remove fear from our streets.

[Lord Greenhalgh (Con)]

My noble friend, with his experience as a leader of Bradford, is absolutely right. We need to combine that strict policing, where we do more than engage and the police act to ensure that we take the hate off our streets and online wherever it occurs, with an equally strong and robust approach to social cohesion. In fact, Bradford pioneered the Near Neighbours programme, which brings different communities, such as the Muslim and Jewish communities, closer together. We can learn from that.

Churches: Reopening of Buildings

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Wednesday 22nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, I wholeheartedly agree, which is why the faith round tables engaged with leaders of all our major faiths and those of the belief groups, recognising the importance of engaging with everyone.

[Lord Pickles (Con) [V]]

My Lords, noble Lords have been quite right to point to the way in which various religious groups have managed to keep their congregations together and to outreach in the wider community, particularly to the vulnerable. As one local religious organiser said to me, in many ways they have been able to go out further than was possible before the outbreak. What will the Government do to help co-ordinate and ensure that this level of contact with the vulnerable is kept up?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, that is precisely the point of the review being conducted by Danny Kruger MP to look at how we can sustain the tremendous effort during the pandemic into the recovery phase; I will not pre-empt his report.

Homelessness

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Monday 13th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I note the noble Lord’s raising of the issue of support for our Armed Forces and will write to him on the initiatives that we as a Government are taking on that front.

[Lord Pickles (Con) [V]]

My Lords, given the current uncertainties, would it not make sense to extend the moratorium on evictions beyond September to allow three things to happen: first, for the consequences of the Government’s stimulus to the job market to be felt; secondly, for the amendment to the pre-action protocol overseen by the Master of the Rolls to be delivered and understood; and, finally, to give time to amend housing legislation to allow judges greater discretion with regard to eviction cases? Does my noble friend agree that this action is preferable to introducing measures against a rising tide of evictions in the autumn?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My noble friend will know that we are exploring a number of options to further protect tenants, including a pre-action protocol for claims for possession by private landlords. This might not be the way to achieve our objective, so our priority is to work with the judicial working group convened by the Master of the Rolls on arrangements, including new rules, that will mean that courts are better able to address the need for appropriate protection of all parties once the stay on possession proceedings ends in August.

Covid-19: Local Democracy

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I note the noble Baroness’s comments about the functioning of local democracy. Certainly, in my 20 years, I always felt that we had one of the best examples of local democratic accountability through our councillors and engagement with local business groups. I will look at the noble Baroness’s comments. We continue to work with other bodies, including citizens’ and other assembly groups to ensure that their voices are heard.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, while there has, on occasion, been excessive delegation to officers and a paucity of democratic scrutiny, remote working has generally worked extraordinarily well. I think there are lessons to be learned beyond the pandemic. Will my noble friend the Minister undertake to review the use of videoconferencing for council and committee meetings? Will he undertake to look at pilots to extend this beyond the pandemic, to make it a normal part of local government life?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My noble friend is right that remote working and videoconferencing have been broadly well accepted by local councils up and down the land. I will undertake that we conduct that review and look at how this can be continued. Obviously, these regulations have been brought in and are effective only until next May.

Covid-19: Housing

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

This Government recognise the importance of high streets and have injected a considerable amount of money into them. I will take up the noble Lord’s suggestion, get back to him in writing and place a copy in the Library.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that one problem in getting a sustained supply of planning is inappropriate planning conditions? That is particularly true in two-tier areas. Is he aware that Section 106 agreements have been sought by county councils on education and highways, and these are properly already included in the community infrastructure levy, but there is some disagreement and worry that this will be passed on by the district council to the county? Therefore, where this disharmony exists, will my noble friend bring some harmony?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My noble friend is right that there should always be harmony where there is disharmony, and I will look into the specific issues regarding Section 106 payments between district councils and county councils. Many developers may have their own financial pressures but I know that many local authorities are being sensible about, and sensitive to, that and are ensuring that there is enough time for these Section 106 contributions to be made in the first place.

Housing and Construction Sector

Debate between Lord Pickles and Lord Greenhalgh

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I will work with ministerial colleagues to provide the appropriate guidance and ensure that there is availability of both personal protective equipment and testing to enable construction work to be carried out safely.

[Lord Pickles (Con)]

My Lords, the housing market will need a steady and sustained recovery. A vital ingredient of that is the supply of sites. There are worrying reports that some planning authorities are not planning to open until July. With the necessary social distancing and technology, a target of getting planning authorities up and running by the end of the month would seem reasonable. Similarly, in order to address the backlog of planning inquiries, and the very welcome news that some are now about to start virtually, can this be extended further? In lieu of that, would it be possible to extend the number of inquiries considered on a temporary basis by written representation?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I thank my noble friend for his question. Yesterday, the Secretary of State set out the Government’s expectations that the vast majority of hearings and other events are to take place virtually by mid-June, and that those involved in the planning process should work proactively to support this. I also take the point that this can be done virtually and by written representation, and I will take that up with the Secretary of State—particularly the point about written representation. On appeals, the Planning Inspectorate held its first digital hearing on 11 May, and the objective is for it to scale that up within a matter of weeks and to do all appeals virtually.