Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Cunningham Excerpts
Tuesday 16th June 2015

(9 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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I congratulate my hon. Friend on his re-election; I enjoyed visiting him in Bedford just before the election. He raises an interesting point about how efficient housing associations are in increasing the housing supply, which is what we want them to do, and we are certainly looking at that at the moment.

Jim Cunningham Portrait Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
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T10. Given that the Chancellor wants to create the west midlands powerhouse, what is he doing to protect the powers and identity of local authorities such as Coventry?

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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I met local authority leaders from Coventry, Birmingham and the surrounding local authorities only a couple of weeks ago, and I made it clear that it is up to them to come together in a combination that suits them and reflects local identities, and that my door is open for any discussions they want to have.