42 Greg Smith debates involving the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Rough Sleeping

Greg Smith Excerpts
Thursday 27th February 2020

(4 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Greg Smith Portrait Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)
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I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, and thank him in particular for the £576,000 that has been awarded following a joint bid from Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe District Councils, which cover my constituency along with Chiltern and South Bucks. Does he agree that we need to encourage more councils to work together to tackle homelessness, not least so that they can build the strongest possible partnerships with charities and specialist service providers, which do not necessarily organise according to council boundaries?

Robert Jenrick Portrait Robert Jenrick
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I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. There are some fantastic councils across the country, and today’s figures would not have been achieved without them. I pay tribute to them, and encourage them to continue to learn from each other and work with voluntary groups, with charities and, of course, with the Government. If there is anything further that we can do to assist my hon. Friend and his colleagues in Buckinghamshire, we will certainly do it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts
Monday 13th January 2020

(5 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Luke Hall Portrait Luke Hall
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My right hon. Friend has been working hard on this issue on behalf of his constituents, and I am happy to meet him to discuss it in the weeks ahead.

Greg Smith Portrait Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)
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May I welcome the real-terms increase for local authorities over the next two years, which is the result of our balanced approach to the economy? Will my hon. Friend update the House on the steps his Department is taking to make councils more efficient?

Luke Hall Portrait Luke Hall
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May I welcome my hon. Friend to his place in the House? He is already looking to be a champion for his community. We are of course working with local authorities to make sure that they can become more efficient, especially in respect of digital transformation. My hon. Friend’s local authority and those throughout the country will have access in the coming year to the 4.4% real-terms rise in core spending power.