Housing

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Steve McCabe

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

Obviously, we took through selective licensing just before the general election. That cracked down on rogue landlords, which are mentioned in the Bill. I will be coming back to that matter as we make progress with the Bill. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s residents will be delighted to see that we are going further than any Labour Government ever did. Under our watch, the number of first-time buyers doubled, the number of new homes doubled and public support for new house building doubled.

[Steve McCabe]

rose—

[Brandon Lewis]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is rising to congratulate us on our success.

[Steve McCabe]

Well, actually I do want to congratulate the Minister on his measures to tackle rogue landlords. It is a step forward. Does he think it would be a good idea also to tackle rogue developers, so that we do not have an explosion of rogue landlords?

[Brandon Lewis]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will want to explain what he means by rogue developers. Certainly, I want to ensure that good quality developers are building the houses that we need across the country for the people who need them.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Steve McCabe

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point in naming one of the local authorities that has done great work in proving that the efficiencies deliver not only savings but, more importantly, better services for their residents. I encourage other authorities to look at those good councils and the great work that they are doing through the community budget programme and the transformation network to become more efficient and effective for their residents.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

I am sure that the Minister must have used a public library as a young man. Is he at all worried that community libraries could all but disappear as this squeeze on non-essential council services continues to grow?

[Brandon Lewis]

I suggest that, if the hon. Gentleman looks around the country, he will also find local authorities that are opening new libraries, where they think that they are right for their area. As I have said to other Members, I urge him to use his powers of persuasion to get his authority to make the savings in the most efficient way possible, and to look at back-office functions, at fraud, at its reserves and at its council tax collection procedures in order to protect front-line services, rather than playing politics with people’s money.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Steve McCabe

Monday 8th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I am sure that the hon. Lady remembers that we have put protections in place for the most vulnerable—councils have a duty to ensure that they look after them. In fact, about 40 authorities actually had an increase this year, because we have moved local government financing from the old Labour style of a begging bowl and “If you do badly, you get more” to a reward-based system whereby if an authority builds houses, it gets money, and if it brings about business growth through business rates retention, it gets more money. Councils can provide better services, work together and be more efficient in that way.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with Mary Portas on the future of the British high street.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Steve McCabe

Monday 18th March 2013 Commons Chamber

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

I am very happy to look at this matter. The hon. Gentleman asks a fair question and I am happy to have a discussion with him about it once the Bill becomes law.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State is on record as saying that councils that flout the law in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 should face justice, so why have 27 local authorities spent millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on flouting the law by employing private investigators to conduct unauthorised surveillance operations?

Council Tax (Benefit Claimants)

Debate between Brandon Lewis and Steve McCabe

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Westminster Hall

[Brandon Lewis]

That is a fair point. Obviously, anybody can use figures in a way that suits them. The reality is that we have put in some money to help councils through the first year or so, and I will come back to that in a moment. However, if councils have not done anything by Thursday, the current scheme stays in place.

I see the most variation in the amount that local authorities propose to charge benefit claimants who have previously received 100% support. Suggested amounts range from 6% to 30% of council tax bills.

[Steve McCabe]

Will the Minister confirm what the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said, which is that the support that has been offered is worth 25% of the cuts? Is that not the difficulty?

[Brandon Lewis]

I will come back to that point in a moment, but as it happens I do not agree that that is the difficulty; it is just part of a wider package. As ever, Opposition Members tend to pick on one thing rather than look at an issue as a whole. The flexibilities that we have given to local government, along with councils’ ability to crack down on fraud and error—£200-odd million last year alone, which in most people’s books is a lot of money—give local government enough to deal with the measure. Across the country, that comes to more than its cost.

I am disappointed that some councils have failed to rise to the challenge to explore every option, and that they are taking what they perceive to be the easier route of looking at double-digit across-the-board cuts. That is a short-term approach that slashes entitlements for the poorest without looking at other ways in which to manage the funding reduction, and it is not sustainable. It is common sense that asking the poorest to pay contributions of 30% is simply unreasonable and, in the longer term, as the funding for council tax support is built into the baseline level of business rates funding, councils have everything to gain from helping people back into work. That is where their focus should be.

It is, of course, for local authorities to consider the appropriate funding to be applied to support local taxpayers as part of their wider budget decisions. Making councils financially responsible for providing support creates stronger incentives for them to get people back into work and to reduce costs.