Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Betts Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

This Government are acutely aware of the impact of the cost of living crisis on working people, and that is firmly in our sights as we approach the spending review this week, but we will have to repair a fair amount of the system, not just the finances. The early warning audit has been left shattered following 14 years of mismanagement, and single-year settlements have left councils not knowing from one year to the next how much money they have to spend, so we will have to introduce multi-year settlements. There is a great deal of work to do, and we cannot repair 14 years of damage in three months, but we are well on the way to it.

[Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)]

Let me first draw attention to my declared interest as a trustee of Fields in Trust.

In the last Parliament, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee received a large amount of evidence concerning the importance of well-designed open spaces for children and young people, but the national planning policy framework mentions them once and mentions bats twice. Is it not about time we got our priorities right, and did more to improve the design of—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Just a minute, please! One of us will have to give way.

The hon. Gentleman is one of the most senior Members of Parliament. He should be looking at me when he is asking a question, not at the Minister. Come on, Clive: I am better-looking.

[Mr Betts]

I will agree with you on the latter point, Mr Speaker.

Will the Minister tell us whether he will change the guidance in future to place more emphasis on the importance to children and young people of properly designed open space?

[Mr Speaker]

But not in this instance! [Laughter.]