Business of the House

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I think that the House will, like me, be grateful to my hon. Friend for his assiduous work in raising this issue. Many Members of this House will take pleasure in celebrating the fact that Parliament square has now been returned to a state in which its splendour and the architectural setting surrounding it can be enjoyed by residents, workers and our many visitors to Westminster. He asked me about the cost to the taxpayer, but I regret to say that I do not know. However, I will draw his question, which he rightly raises, to the attention of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to see whether it might be able to respond to him about that cost, a matter for which it has been responsible.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

May I reiterate the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (David Wright) about the need for a clear statement on the bedroom tax policy? After all the U-turns, there still seems to be confusion about exactly how it is going to work. With 4,700 households affected in Hull and only 73 one and two-bedroom properties available, the Government need to be clear about how this policy is going to be implemented in practice.

[Mr Lansley]

Of course the hon. Lady can reiterate the point, but I will not detain the House by repeating the answer. I will simply say that the clarification that she and other hon. Members actively sought was provided in the written ministerial statement made by colleagues earlier this week.