Integrated Communities

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 14th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I assure the hon. Lady that we share the same goals. I know that she cares deeply about this, as we have spoken about these kinds of issues before. As she knows, Bradford is one of our pilot areas, and we have already started work there. It does not have to wait; this has already started. Bradford will have access to new funding for that work, and we want to work with people there to innovate. We want to listen to their ideas, because they are the people on the ground who are dealing with these issues day in, day out. The hon. Lady is right to refer to resources, which are of course important, but practice and how things are done are equally important, and we want to learn from that, too.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

On sharia councils, how do we protect people who are ignorant of their rights or subject to peer pressure in closed communities?

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend asks a good question. Once he gets a chance to read the Green Paper more closely, he will see that we have set out a programme of how we want to make sure that more people, including imams in mosques, make people aware of their rights. If we have to take direct action to prohibit something—I gave the example of a change in marriage law, and in that case we would need to make sure that women in particular were not being abused and taken advantage of—we will not hesitate to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Monday 12th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

For the record on the hon. Gentleman’s figures, local authorities have built over 10,000 homes since 2010-11 compared with under 3,000 in the 13 years of the last Labour Government. We are restless to do much more, and that is why we are raising the housing revenue account borrowing cap by up to £1 billion to make sure that we spur local house building as far and as wide as we can.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Is it in the interests of the private sector to build in sufficient quantity as to achieve a reduction in price?

[Dominic Raab]

It is a good question, and probably one for a symposium with everyone from developers to planners. The reality is that we want to see a stabilisation in house prices. We need to build more homes and deal with some of the demand issues that have been raised. There is no single answer; we have to yank every lever at our disposal 20% or 30% harder.

National Planning Policy Framework

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I cannot comment on that particular planning proposal—it is a live proposal—but the hon. Gentleman should reflect. If he truly supports more homes and developments in London, perhaps he should have a chat with the leader of his party and ask why they intimidate Labour leaders who want to increase the number of homes in their areas.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Is the Secretary of State satisfied with the balance of power between developer and purchaser when new builds turn out to be seriously defective?

Grenfell Tower

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Monday 5th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

We are in conversation with that local authority, as we are with others. We are continuing to talk these issues through, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we have not declined any requests for financial flexibility. We will make sure that we get it right so that the residents in his constituency are kept safe.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

When did the substantial deregulation of fire safety take place?

[Dominic Raab]

As I have said, the building regulations review is under way and we have had the interim report. We have accepted all its recommendations and, when the final report is published, we will look at it carefully and consider how to take it forward.