Devolution in England
Debate between Kris Hopkins and Heidi Alexander
Kris Hopkins
The deals associated with the health authority still have a long way to go. The principle of joining the services together is the right one, and I have confidence that those 10 local authority leaders will be accountable for that devolved spend.
I know that the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Austin Mitchell) is a passionate Yorkshireman. He talked about “devo-tyke” and “devo-Manc”, and he was right in what he said. As a Yorkshire MP myself, I recognise—as do Opposition Members—that there is an opportunity here. Sheffield has seized it and Leeds is having a conversation about it. This is up to local leaders. I remember this conflict from the time when I was a local leader: it is not easy for the different tiers of government to come together as one body, regardless of politics, to make choices about how to grow their economies and ensure that those in their most deprived areas can change their lives and become prosperous. I applaud the work of the all-party parliamentary group on Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, which has come up with some really good ideas on how to achieve these aims.
I want to go back to Wigan, just for a moment. I do not want to rub it in—well, actually, I do want to rub it in a bit, to be quite honest!
Kris Hopkins
I am getting on with it. The hon. Member for Wigan said that the new plans were not the way forward, but let us just think about the journey that we have made. We have moved from having an unelected regional development authority, a top-down obsession with centralisation and a target-driven system to a situation in which we have individuals making choices about the path that they want to take to economic success. That is the right way to do it. This is not about creating more bureaucracy or creating more politicians for the sake of it; it is about local people making a choice about devolution and seizing those powers and opportunities. That is a principle that everyone in this House can support.
Question deferred until tomorrow at Seven o’clock (Standing Order No. 54).
Ministry of Defence
Local Government Finance
Debate between Kris Hopkins and Heidi Alexander
Kris Hopkins
Being from west Yorkshire, I have seen some interesting responses from different leaders of Kirklees council over the years. I have also been able to see some excellent work there. Credit unions are an important part of the local economy and if the council is offering that service and can get the money returned, it is the right thing to do, but it is public money and the council must be accountable for it. I am sure that the public will be watching where that money has gone.
Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)
In his statement, the Minister said that local authorities continue to make a vital contribution to helping pay off the deficit. The truth is that they are making a disproportionate contribution. Lewisham tells me that at some point in the year 2017-18, if it covers the costs of social care and waste collection, it will have £20 million left to spend on all other services. If the Minister was the leader of Lewisham council, what would he stop providing: leisure centres, libraries or parks?
Kris Hopkins
It is important that local government makes a contribution, as £114 billion is a huge amount of money. Today's announcement involves £49 billion on its own. If I were leader of Lewisham council, I would build its business base. Even the most deprived areas can do it. Newham has managed to grow its economy by some £7 million, and if Newham can do it, I am sure Lewisham can as well.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Kris Hopkins and Heidi Alexander
Kris Hopkins
New build is really important, but my hon. Friend is right that we must also stimulate the existing housing market. The mortgage guarantee scheme covers existing housing, so I suggest that he goes out to promote it to residents in his beautiful city of Carlisle.
Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)
One of the real problems for first-time buyers is that simply not enough homes are being built to meet demand. In Lewisham, of the 15,000 homes that have been granted planning permission over the past six years, more than 9,000 are yet to be built. Is it not about time that developers were told, “Use it or lose it” when it comes to planning permissions?
Kris Hopkins
I want to promote investment in the housing market and to give developers confidence. The reality is that we have delivered 15,000 new homes through our Help to Buy scheme, and 1,000 of those were in London alone.