Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
If there was any possible way to ensure the survival of a company whose directors were allegedly being paid millions of pounds—it is interesting to hear that the Opposition want us to have backed those millions of pounds of bonuses with yet more money from the public purse—we would have done it, but, as I said, it would have required accounting officer direction, because it simply did not stack up. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the reality is that Hays Travel has come in and rescued many of those jobs, because well-run companies survive. Poorly run companies cannot survive.
Mr Speaker
Observers of our proceedings will doubtless have heard the sedentary exclamations of the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner), who is further validating the assertion that I make to audiences around the world, which is that he is the loudest Member of the House.
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
Thomas Cook
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The airline insolvency review, which reported in May, provides a few useful ideas about things that could be done, including some that require primary legislation and others that do not and on which we have already started to act. We cannot keep returning to this situation. It is terrible for passengers and for all those involved, and there is a problem in finding sufficient aircraft to solve this problem when it happens.
Mr Speaker
The Secretary of State will be aware that the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones) is a distinguished former Transport Minister. Indeed, I well recall that when he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for buses, being a man of the people as he is, he was wont to come to work on the bus, no doubt to the very considerable delight of his fellow passengers.
Lisa Forbes (Peterborough) (Lab)
Following the sudden collapse of Thomas Cook, which was headquartered in Peterborough, and the loss of 1,200 jobs there, many of my constituents turned up for work only to find that their jobs were lost with Christmas fast approaching. The hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) is absolutely correct that there has been an incredible outpouring of unity from individuals and businesses in Peterborough who have stepped up to show their support and solidarity at an extremely difficult and distressing time for so many in Peterborough.
Can the Secretary of State tell me what specific support the Government are giving to my constituents, who have mortgages and bills to pay and families to support, in finding alternative employment? What measures have they put in place to support the city’s economy as a whole, given the loss of so many good jobs?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow
Grant Shapps
It is absolutely the case that rents are not well served by caps at all, and when in place they enhanced neither rental levels nor the quality of properties. For example, the housing market shrank to 8% with rent caps. There is no advantage to introducing rent caps. Without them, the market has expanded again to 16%, serving people in London and elsewhere far better.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow
Grant Shapps
The simple answer is yes. I have visited the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and seen some of the problems for myself. I am very much in favour of the discretionary local licensing schemes, which can play an important part. I pledge that when I come back to see his Collyhurst estate, which is about to have its decent homes funding get under way and have work done on that, I will be very happy to visit one of those licensing schemes.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow
Grant Shapps
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that there are problems with the allocation policy at the moment. One thing that we plan to do through the Localism Bill is to provide much greater flexibility to allocations. For example, if somebody is seeking to move home within the sector, they should not have to join the back of the regular queue. In addition, by the end of this year we will have set up a mobility scheme, which will cover 90% of homes in this country.
Mr Speaker
David Morris is not here. The grouping therefore falls and Mr Ruffley’s question will follow later.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow(13 years, 1 month ago)
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Grant Shapps
The big difference between the public and private rented sectors is that because private sector leases tend to be for six months or more, it is much easier for landlords to terminate them. However, my hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the difficulty experienced in the private sector, and I am keen for the Government to assist in any way they can.
Mr Speaker
I am greatly obliged to the Minister. I call George Hollingbery.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow(13 years, 4 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
We can usefully draw out a couple of points from the consultation that is before the House. First, we have set the banding equally throughout the country, so a band D home represents the average band D home throughout the country. Secondly, bigger homes obviously take up more space, so people will get less money because they cannot build as many. Thirdly, the hon. Lady will be interested to know that we have over-compensated for affordable house building, ensuring that every single affordable home that is built will get more than £350 in additional money. That represents a figure of more than 125% for every affordable home built. We should get more built—
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow
Mr Speaker
Order. That was very unsatisfactory; I think that I will have to add injury time. Let us hear it from the Minister.
Local Government Financing
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow
Clive Efford
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure whether I heard it right, but I believe that we have just heard an announcement of a £1 billion fund. I wonder why that was not announced in a statement to the House.
Mr Speaker
Before I respond to the point of order, I shall be happy to hear a statement or clarification from the Minister, from whose lips I think the words came.
Grant Shapps
The fund was announced in the Budget, Mr Speaker. If the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) was present last week, he will have heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer announce it at this Dispatch Box. Let me clarify another point. My hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) also mentioned that he had telephoned the office of the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen to check that the letter had been received. I am very surprised by the rather discourteous and disingenuous comments about my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Grant Shapps and John Bercow(13 years, 10 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
I thank my hon. Friend for pointing out that many communities feel put upon due to the regional spatial strategies and many other centrally imposed items. We will ensure—
Mr Speaker
Order. The right hon. Gentleman is seeking to respond to the question, but it is outwith the terms of that on the Order Paper.
David Wright (Telford) (Lab)
What discussions has the Minister held with landlord organisations about possible changes to the capital gains tax regime as it relates to private landlords?
Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)
8. What steps he is taking to improve the co-ordination of Government policy on homelessness.
The Minister for Housing (Grant Shapps)
That will be me then.
The most important thing is that there is an honest street count, but there has not been such a count up to now. We will introduce measures to take street counts into account. The last street count said that there were just 468 people sleeping rough in the entire country: it is nonsense, and we are going to get it sorted.
The Minister for Housing (Grant Shapps)
The national fiscal position is severe, and we have had to make some very difficult decisions on savings. That is why on 24 May we announced that the Government would be making £6.2 billion of savings this year. We have estimated that planned savings in the housing programme will reduce the number of affordable houses. That is why we brought forward another £170 million to ensure that 4,000 could be completed.
Mr Speaker
That was three questions, but we will have one answer from the Minister.
Grant Shapps
Those of us on the Government Benches who care about things such as homelessness and affordable housing provision do not need to take lectures from a Government who, during their 13 years in office, produced less affordable housing than the Thatcher and Major Governments. The simple fact is that we want this stuff to go ahead, and that is why the £170 million has been brought forward. The reality is that if one runs the country like the money is never going to run out, one ends up in exactly this position. Rather than blaming us for it, it would be good to look closer to home.