Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Mike Freer

Monday 23rd January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point and highlights the considerable efficiency savings that could be found through collaboration and which could allow extra money to go back into the frontline for both police and fire. On the timeframe, it will be down to the speed with which the police and crime commissioner can present a business case. If there is local agreement, I would hope to see the first police, fire and crime commissioners coming forward a matter of months after Royal Assent.

[Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)]

13. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people subjected to forced marriage are encouraged to report that crime to the police.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Mike Freer

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend is fighting hard for his constituents and planning is an emotive issue that people care passionately about. It shapes the future of the environments in which we live. Every planning application, no matter how silly it might seem, will have unique characteristics and will therefore potentially lead to different decisions.

[Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to tackle rogue landlords.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

We have provided £6.7 million thus far to crack down on rogue landlords and have legislated to protect tenants from retaliatory eviction. I am determined to go further. We have recently published plans to blacklist and ban rogue landlords and to enable councils to impose civil penalties and to seek rent repayment orders in more circumstances.

[Mike Freer]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the approach of creating a register will simply create bureaucracy and drive up rents for tenants?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Last time the Opposition costed their plans for a national register, it was, I think, about £40 million a year, a cost that would fall on the tenants. More regulation in that sense is simply not the answer; it drives down supply and, as a result, quality for tenants.