Plan for Neighbourhoods
Debate between Alex Norris and Stephen Gethins(1 week, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Alex Norris
I am aware of the history that my hon. Friend mentions. I hope that this will be a reboot moment for Hastings and a chance to get some of the benefit that the community undoubtedly wants to see. The plan will be to get a board in place quickly, and then to develop a neighbourhood plan. I exhort the board to engage with its community as best as possible, and there are some brilliant examples. Chesterfield and Arbroath spring to mind, and I am sure those communities will be generous in sharing their experience of how to do it well.
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
The Minister and I had a very consensual exchange yesterday at questions, and he knows that Arbroath has been exceptional in this endeavour. Can he assure me that where communities have good structures, those structures will be kept? The funding is welcome, but it is fair to say that there has been some disappointment in areas such as Perth and Dunfermline. There has also been some disappointment about the promises that were not kept by those who backed our leaving the EU on the lifeline funding that came from the European Union. Can he give us some of his thoughts on how we match some of that up? Finally, will he assure us that devolution will absolutely be respected in any plans going forward?
Alex Norris
As I said yesterday, it was impossible in the church hall not to be struck by the extent of the consultation in Arbroath, which is a model for elsewhere. As the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have said, we see devolution through the prism of wanting to reset our relationships with the devolved Governments. I have had those conversations, as the hon. Gentleman may know, and I will continue to do so. Having representatives of the devolved legislature involved in the board is a positive step. We do not want to hold back progress where areas have made significant progress, so they should move at pace. I believe that we will be able to make the relatively minor tweaks that are needed in their cases and move forward at great pace. With regard to previous structural funds, we were able to deliver what we could in the Budget, and what is coming forward will be looked at as part of the spending review.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alex Norris and Stephen Gethins(1 week, 3 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) (SNP)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Alex Norris)
My officials and I continue to work with our counterparts, including in the Scotland Office and colleagues in the devolved Governments, to develop and deliver the reformed long-term plan for towns. I was delighted to visit Arbroath earlier this year. I was blown away by the quality of its consultation and the boldness of its plans, and I commend the leadership of Peter Stirling and the rest of the town board.
Stephen Gethins
May I put on record my thanks to the Minister for visiting Arbroath? It was good of him to do that, and I join him in congratulating Peter Stirling and members of the Arbroath town board. We have seen how hard-working they are and the way the community really got behind the project. I put on record my thanks to everybody in the town who has taken part, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens (Dave Doogan) for his work on it. Will the Minister work with the Treasury to ensure that there is maximum flexibility for local communities in Arbroath and elsewhere in the UK, to ensure that we can bring these projects to full fruition?
Alex Norris
That is a very important point. We wanted to keep the promise made to the people of Arbroath, which is why I am very pleased that we have been able to do so through the long-term plan for towns. Going forward, as I have said to other colleagues, we want to see a longer-term, more allocative settlement that is driven by local people. As I stood in the church hall, with board after board after board of feedback from local residents about what they wanted to see, it only firmed my resolve that they should be in charge, rather than us. I came away with Arbroath smokies—they are always worth a visit as well—but I was very impressed with what the town board was doing.