Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Soames of Fletching and James Brokenshire

Monday 5th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to build new homes.

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (James Brokenshire)]

The publication of the national planning policy framework provides greater clarity and certainty for the development of homes. We are examining the recommendations of my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) on the build-out review and will respond in full in February.

[Sir Nicholas Soames]

The Government would see greater progress in their quest to shorten the time it takes to build new homes if people were able to have greater confidence in the design and layout of large housing developments. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the steps he is taking to get that done, but does he agree that what really worries people is not only the housing but the inability to provide adequate social infrastructure to cope with massive amounts of new housing where there simply is not currently the infrastructure to support it?

[James Brokenshire]

I recognise the points that my right hon. Friend highlights and welcome his support for the Building Better, Building Beautiful commission, which will look at that sense of place and the identity between our built environment and how we live our lives. He also rightfully highlights the issues relating to infrastructure. I hope that he will welcome the extra £500 million that the Chancellor committed in last week’s Budget to the housing infrastructure fund to deal with the issues that he rightly points out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Soames of Fletching and James Brokenshire

Monday 23rd July 2018 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

The right to buy has been a powerful and important initiative in ensuring that people have places that they can call their home. We will set out an approach in the new NPPF that will reduce delays from the use of viability assessments to negotiate developer contributions by front-loading that. The Government are taking steps to speed up home delivery, which is something the hon. Gentleman should welcome.

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the number of council houses, and indeed any other houses, being built would be greatly improved if the Government insisted on a far higher standard of design and layout? Will he therefore favour, in planning applications for council houses and all other houses, developers who insist in those plans on the highest possible standards for the design and layout of those houses?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Soames of Fletching and James Brokenshire

Monday 11th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

The Chair of the Home Affairs Committee and I have debated these issues in the past. Since April last year 12,253 notices to marry have been referred to the Home Office through the new arrangements. Of these, 160 proposed marriages were considered a sham, and a further 99 marriages were prevented because couples did not follow the necessary requirements and co-operate with the investigation. This is a serious matter on which we have already taken action. Between April and September last year we arrested 528 individuals and removed more than 279 people involved in sham marriages, underlining our focus on that issue.

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Would my right hon. Friend reconsider the question of ID cards, not only in respect of immigration and the introduction of many digital services for all our individuals and citizens, but particularly in regard to national security and the protection of all our citizens from terrorism? Does he agree that this is now a matter of national security?

[James Brokenshire]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that one of the first steps that the coalition Government took was to respond to the Labour Government’s proposals on that issue, which we continue to judge was the right thing to do. We are taking various measures to enhance the security of this country, but our judgment remains that ID cards are not the right way forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Soames of Fletching and James Brokenshire

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

I do not accept that. I note that the Higher Education Funding Council for England published a report on 10 April indicating that student entrants were up. We continue to work with colleagues across Government. It is notable that we have seen new entrants from key markets including China, Malaysia and Hong Kong. We very much welcome international students to study at our fantastic universities.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

18. Does my hon. Friend accept that although of course we warmly welcome students from all over the world to our excellent universities, they must leave when they are meant to do so? May I suggest that he encourages the universities themselves to play a greater part in seeing to it that that happens?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Soames of Fletching and James Brokenshire

Monday 21st May 2012 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

I agree with the hon. Lady about the role social landlords can play in dealing with antisocial behaviour. Injunctions and civil orders are important tools. We are looking at how to extend them, and to make them more flexible and speedier, so as to bring relief to social tenants and others who are victims of antisocial behaviour.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

13. What recent reports she has received on the time taken to enter the UK through Heathrow airport; and if she will make a statement.