Ben Bradshaw
Main Page: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)(12 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Greg Clark
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the things that was suppressed under the old regional arrangements was the identity of cities internationally, and one of the proposals that we make in the document is that UK Trade & Investment should work even more closely with cities to promote the identity of cities such as Liverpool, which is world renowned and should be given particular prominence in UKTI’s work around the world.
Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)
I was pleased by the Minister’s clear statement that these new powers would not be restricted to the biggest regional cities, but applied—as he said—to all urban areas. But how on earth is that compatible with one of the first decisions that this Government made, which was to take away Exeter’s unitary status?
Greg Clark
I know that there has been an extensive debate, and great opposition in the area, about that issue, but it was settled. Rather than change administrative boundaries, which could bog down this process and waste time, our choice has been to respect existing administrative boundaries and, within that, transfer powers.