Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Morgan and Michael Gove

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Absolutely. The vital role that our creative industries play across the United Kingdom in levelling up is one we need to not just protect, but enhance.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

The delivery of local services is so important to levelling up all areas of Britain. The Secretary of State will be aware that in rural areas, the cost of delivering public services is much higher than in their urban counterparts. In rural counties such as Shropshire, for example, the cost of providing social care is much higher and the proportion of people who need that care is higher, because there are older residents. Will the Secretary of State consider taking into account the cost of providing those services when determining the local government settlement in the future?

[Michael Gove]

It is a very fair point, and absolutely, on the Government side of the House, we understand that rural communities need additional investment, not least when it comes to the cost of adult social care.

Building Safety

Debate between Helen Morgan and Michael Gove

Monday 30th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

No, it is not. There are a number of other constituencies and local authorities where either a waking watch has been installed or people have had to be decanted from the building, as was the case in Ipswich and in South Yorkshire. We are seeking to move as quickly as possible in order to ensure that that work advances. As I mentioned, the overwhelming majority of the buildings over 18 metres that have ACM now have work in place or being carried out. However, I will follow up on the individual cases that the right hon. Gentleman was kind enough to mention.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

The statement today is a welcome, if belated, step in the right direction. We all agree across the House, I think, that leasehold is no longer a fit-for-purpose form of property ownership. Can the Secretary of State give us some timelines of when he might be bringing property ownership into the 21st century?

[Michael Gove]

The aim is to do this in the Queen’s Speech.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Morgan and Michael Gove

Monday 21st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is the direction in which we wish to move, yes.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

I have been proud to support a very good levelling-up bid in Oswestry in my constituency. With North Shropshire being such a large rural area, public transport is a really important part of levelling up the whole region, so will the Secretary of State look favourably on both Oswestry’s bid and Shropshire’s bid to improve bus services across the county?

Social Housing Standards

Debate between Helen Morgan and Michael Gove

Wednesday 16th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is important to stress that the overwhelming majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide a high-quality service, care for their tenants and want their properties to be kept up to the highest standards. However, a small minority, which often includes individuals or organisations based overseas who own property here, neglect the appropriate standards to which the property should be kept. The legislation that we will bring forward in due course will help to tackle those abuses.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and send my deepest condolences to Awaab’s loved ones. Will the Secretary of State acknowledge that an overall chronic shortage of social housing is contributing to the problem of tenants living in dangerous or unsuitable conditions because there are no other options available? A less serious case, but an example from my constituency, is that of a family of six living in a two-bedroom property, whose son is falling behind at school because he cannot sleep at night. Will the Secretary of State commit to allowing councils and housing associations to keep 100% of the proceeds of homes sold under the right to buy scheme so that, at the very least, they can hope to maintain their current level of social housing stock?

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Lady makes a fair point about ensuring that we do everything possible to support local authorities to increase social housing stock. Of course, we do need to keep that under review and, again, we will be saying more about that in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Morgan and Michael Gove

Monday 16th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

T5. Just last year, Shropshire’s Conservative-run council missed out on three levelling-up bids, and it missed out on a bus service improvement plan bid, under the Bus Back Better fund, this year. There is no doubt that Shropshire has need of these funds, so I would like to understand: what steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that levelling-up funds are allocated on the basis of need, rather than through some opaque bidding process that seems to be influenced by a council’s ability to direct resources at that bid?

[Michael Gove]

We allocate levelling-up fund bids, as the Local Government Minister pointed out earlier, on the basis of appropriate competition in order to ensure value for money, but I have had a chance to talk to the excellent Conservative leader of Shropshire Council, Lezley Picton, to make sure that she and her superb team of Conservative councillors can deliver for the people of Shropshire, as Conservatives always have.