Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Angela Rayner and Lindsay Hoyle(1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Laurence Turner
I recognise that the Secretary of State has inherited a very difficult situation. Under the Conservatives, Birmingham lost 40p in the pound and 60% of local authority jobs were lost—some of the sharpest cuts in the country. Our city is now facing cuts of more than 50% to some public service budgets, but new information has come to light and it is clear that part of the basis for the original intervention under her Conservative predecessor was wrong. Can—
Mr Speaker
Order. It is meant to be a question; you cannot make a speech. I think you need an Adjournment debate to finish this one off.
Angela Rayner
First, let me welcome my hon. Friend to his place. He is right to highlight the cuts that Birmingham faced under the Tories. Unlike previous Ministers, we have no interest in using Birmingham and its people as a political football. We cannot avoid the need to make difficult decisions, but I want to work with the council leadership, as well as the commissioners, and of course I am open to any representations they want to make.
Angela Rayner
I congratulate the hon. Member on his work in this area. Either myself or one of my Ministers will be happy to meet him.
Angela Rayner
If the hon. Member had read our proposals regarding the inconsistencies, he would know that the Government are not proposing to remove all references to beauty from the NPPF. I reiterate that the changes we are making relate to additional references to beauty inserted by the previous Government in December 2023. These are subjective in nature, difficult to define and may lead to inconsistencies in decision making.
Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)
On the subject of the NPPF, I am grateful for the letter that the right hon. Lady sent to me on Saturday. I enjoyed reading it, especially her attempts to explain why she reduced Sadiq Khan’s London targets and, even more, where she highlights that he has consistently under-delivered. If other local leaders miss their new housing targets, will she reduce their targets too?