Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

8. When he next expects to meet local authorities in East Anglia to discuss the problems caused by the tidal surges of 5 to 6 December 2013.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

I am at the moment inviting local council leaders from across the country whose areas have been affected by flooding to meet me, beyond those I have already spoken to. In fact, I plan to meet East Anglian authorities on 27 January.

[Mr Bellingham]

Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the Environment Agency and all the other emergency services that worked so tirelessly on the night of the tidal surges, many of which, along the Norfolk coast, were the highest ever on record? Does he agree that the repair work has also been absolutely fantastic? The repairs are now nearly all finished, as I saw for myself when I visited the shingle embankment between Snettisham and Hunstanton last Friday. Will he tell the House what more he will do to talk to local authorities?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the excellent work done by local authorities and emergency services. I must stress that voluntary groups and schools also worked through the night. Particular credit must go to local organisations, such as the Norfolk Community Foundation and our great Eastern Daily Press, which have campaigned on behalf of local communities. I will invite those groups to talk to us about the lessons they have learned and what more we can do to ensure that the recovery goes smoothly.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. Repairs to sea defences were badly damaged in the storm surge on 5 December. They are not automatically covered by the Bellwin scheme. Will the Minister confirm that in his meetings with local authorities he will work with them to ensure that the repair works are carried out as quickly as possible so that coastal communities in Suffolk and Norfolk can get back on their feet?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Bellwin scheme is only one part of the funding available for various issues from which areas affected by flooding will suffer. I am pleased to say that the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs will be addressing the matter of sea defences in a report to Parliament in the next few weeks, as the Environment Agency’s programme moves forward.

[Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What assessment he has made of the effect of the local government finance settlement on the most vulnerable communities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

10. What recent progress his Department has made on negotiations regarding firefighters’ pensions.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

The Government have offered a generous pension scheme to firefighters and proposed steps and protections to help with their concerns about fitness and capability. We hope that the Fire Brigades Union will accept the offer rather than continuing with an unnecessary dispute. I also continue to meet the union, having last done so on 6 January, and I will meet it again next week.

[Mr Watts]

I thank the Minister for his response. Given the Government’s praise for the actions of the fire service during the recent floods, does he believe it is right that if our brave firefighters cannot carry out their full range of duties, they should be faced with no job and no pension? Should he not be ashamed of himself?

[Brandon Lewis]

The hon. Gentleman’s interpretation of the facts is inaccurate, as that is not how the system works. That is why we are consulting on a set of principles, which give even more protection than the principles being consulted on in Scotland, to deal with any concerns that firefighters have. His facts on this matter are not correct.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

To achieve a settlement on firefighters’ pensions, firefighters need to believe that the fitness test that will apply to them in their late 50s will in practice enable them to continue in service until they reach the age of 60. Will the Minister update the House on what discussions he has had about the specifics of the fitness test that will be applied in the future?

[Brandon Lewis]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. One of the reasons that the issue does not exist in the way that the hon. Member for St Helens North (Mr Watts) suggests is that there is no national fitness standard for firefighters. It is a matter for local services to look at their local needs and for the chief fire officer and the fire authority to decide on their local needs. What should be in place, and what we propose to put in place in the national framework, is a process and a set of procedures that are both fair to the service and to firefighters and which give them the right protection to ensure that they get the support from their service that they need to attain the relevant fitness required by their local fire service.

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

The Minister offers some reassurance. However, the Government’s survey says that between 29% and 92% of firefighters will not be operationally fit to continue until they are 60. He says that he is meeting the Fire Brigades Union. Will he seriously discuss with it the reassurance that he is offering and tell it how that will be achieved?

[Brandon Lewis]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me a chance to clarify the issue. It is one of the conversations that we had on 6 January and which will be continuing, I hope, next week. I do not entirely agree with his interpretation of Dr Williams’s report, which makes it clear that, with proper fitness work going on—one of the things that we expect the service to do as part of the principles that we are consulting on—firefighters can retain fitness until 60. That is very achievable, and we want to make sure that the protections are in place. Beyond the Scottish agreement, we have suggested an independent review to ensure that the service is putting these protections in place.

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

11. What guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the duty of co-operation arising from the Localism Act 2011 in respect of waste disposal.

--- Later in debate ---

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

T5. Under the Bellwin scheme, the Government give emergency financial assistance to local authorities that are hit by natural disasters. In June and July last year, the Government provided 100% of emergency expenditure, but they are providing only 85% for the more recent floods. Will the Minister explain how the damage caused and the costs incurred more recently are different from what they were then?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

So far, 37 authorities have indicated that they plan to make a claim through the Bellwin fund. As I said earlier, all the local authorities that have been affected are coming in to talk to us about the recovery process. I am sure that they will want to raise the issue of funding. The Bellwin fund is well tested, it works and local authorities know how it works. We will obviously work with any authority that needs specific help.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

T6. Will my hon. Friend reassure me that planning inspectors will recognise the constraints that are on councils as they draw up their local plans, and that they will get the balance right between holding those councils to account and not subjecting them to undue delay?

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

T7. On 8 January, I was told by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis) in a written answer that he does not know“the net change in central Government support to individual local authorities”since May 2010.—[Official Report, 8 January 2014; Vol. 573, c. 257W.] If he does not know by how much he has decided to cut the funding for particular local authorities, how can he possibly assess whether it is beneficial or detrimental?

[Brandon Lewis]

The entire system of local government funding has been changed under this Government so that it is based on incentives rather than the begging bowl. Authorities that build houses will get more money and authorities that deliver economic growth will benefit from business rate retention. That is the way forward for local government—it is in control of its own destiny.

[Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)]

T8. I am working hard to promote right to buy in Stevenage, with some success. Sadly, Stevenage borough council does not support hard-working families in buying their own council homes. Will the Secretary of State consider making Stevenage a pilot area and contacting directly all tenants who are eligible to take up right to buy?