Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Pickles and Nigel Evans

Monday 2nd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I am pleased that the new administration in Hammersmith and Fulham is building on the fine work of the previous Conservative administration, which did more than just freeze council tax; it cut it by 3% each year, from appalling record levels. The new Labour administration has been able to take full advantage of those efficiencies.

[Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State congratulate Ribble Valley council, which has frozen its council tax for the past five years without reducing the level of services? If Ribble Valley council can do it, anybody can. The only thing missing in some councils is the political will.

[Mr Pickles]

I congratulate Ribble Valley council, which is clearly the apple of my eye. I know it to be very efficient. Income levels in the Ribble valley are better because local councillors are dedicated to keeping council tax down.

Housing and Planning

Debate between Lord Pickles and Nigel Evans

Thursday 6th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

I think that the hon. Lady had to put that last sentence in to retain her credibility on the Labour Benches. The truth is that this policy is intended precisely to allow local people to get together and look towards the development of social housing. I represent a different kind of constituency from the hon. Lady’s, but I can think of a number of villages in my area that have got together to look for social housing, have gone out of their way to identify sites and have worked with housing associations to bring in that development. That is exactly the kind of development that we are talking about. That is why we are announcing an additional sum to deliver 15,000 more affordable houses on top of what we have promised. If she has a place in mind, she should get cracking with her local council and developers, and get the application in tomorrow.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

If we could please have brief, single questions, I will get all hon. Members in.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend keep pushing for houses to be built on brownfield sites first and keep bringing empty homes back into use? I welcome the £300 million. Given the figures that are being bandied around, will he clarify what number of houses have planning permission and are ready to be built?

Local Government Finance

Debate between Lord Pickles and Nigel Evans

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I apologise. I call Mr Pickles.

[Mr Pickles]

You can be forgiven for that mistake, Mr Deputy Speaker, as I do not recall a single question in the tirade from the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint).

I am grateful for the right hon. Lady’s welcome, but it seems that it was a pointless gesture to supply her with the statement so far in advance—well in advance compared to what Labour used to do—if she just reads out something that had clearly been typed long before she received it. She should not rely on The Times. She needs to understand what will happen after the first year. The tariff and a levy will continue.

Perhaps we can look at the issue in these terms. If the system is designed to punish our enemies and reward our friends, what will it mean for Doncaster, which includes the constituency of the Leader of the Opposition, the Opposition Chief Whip and the right hon. Lady? Under this system, Doncaster will do particularly well. It will do better under this system than it has for the last five years. Instead of the right hon. Member for Don Valley trying to invent reasons why things will go wrong, she should recognise that this is a way for her to stand up for the people of Doncaster and explain that it is a wonderful place to invest, with a great market and a wonderful rail link. She should get on the side of the people of Doncaster and stop opposing a system that will benefit them.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Lord Pickles and Nigel Evans

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)]

I beg to move,

That the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2011-12 (House of Commons Paper No. 748), which was laid before this House on 31 January, be approved.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

With this we shall discuss the following motion:

That the Limitation of Council Tax and Precepts (Alternative Notional Amounts) Report (England) 2011-12 (House of Commons Paper No. 774), which was laid before this House on 31 January, be approved.

[Mr Pickles]

Over recent weeks, my coalition colleagues and I have had many conversations with local government. We have spoken to individual authorities, the Local Government Association, London Councils and other representatives, and let me say how much I respect the mature and responsible attitude that all have taken throughout those discussions. They know that we are sailing in choppy economic waters, and that cutting Labour’s massive budget deficit is the responsible and the right thing to do—and many have planned ahead.

Only the most blinkered could have failed to see tough times coming. The House will recall that the right hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Mr Darling) said in March 2010 that if Labour were to remain in power we would see spending cuts “deeper and tougher” than those of the 1980s—I suppose that that is one Labour pledge we are able to deliver—so let us not pretend that anyone thought that we could spend, spend, spend indefinitely.