"As the Secretary of State will be aware, we are still awaiting a local government reorganisation decision in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. To that extent, as I laid out in my Westminster Hall debate on Monday, I very much back a Huntingdonshire unitary authority, because of the opportunities for growth it …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
"Following on from that point about firefighters, one of the wildfires among the major incidents the First Secretary of State referred to in her statement was in Cambridgeshire at Holme Fen nature reserve, to which up to 20 fire engines responded, along with 150 firefighters from as far afield as …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
That this House has considered the impact of local government reorganisation on Cambridgeshire.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. Last week I wrote to the Secretary of State outlining my concerns regarding the delayed decision on the future of local government …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
"I would bounce that back at the hon. Member and ask him why he never came to me or any of the other Huntingdonshire MPs to ask about proposing an option that would split Huntingdonshire in two. The hon. Member told the BBC last summer:
"Given that Peterborough has unitary status, I agree that it makes sense for a city the size of Cambridge to have that unitary basis. However, I stress that I do not believe that should come at the expense of other regions across the county.
"I concur with the hon. Gentleman. There is absolutely an opportunity here to learn from previous mistakes and make sure that they are not repeated when we drive this forward in the new year.
In early July, news began to leak out from the Local Government Association’s annual conference that …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
The announcement by the former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 16 July therefore makes little sense. He said:
“On Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and West Sussex, I am not making announcements today, because further time is required to get the decisions …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
"I agree with the hon. Member. We urgently need clarity. On the statement that was made before recess, we saw a huge amount of discontent across both sides of the House with the decisions that had been taken previously, and it is essential that we get real clarity on exactly …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
"I agree with my hon. Friend. It is absolutely key that we get clarity on the timeline for this decision process—when it will be taken and when we can expect to hear—because there are local elections to prepare for next year and people need to know exactly what is going …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech
"I am not aware of that; I have not seen the detail of the report so it would be remiss of me to opine on it, but I have read the business cases in detail. While splitting the county into those three distinct regions may look like it makes sense, …..." Ben Obese-Jecty - View Speech