All 1 Debates between Martin Vickers and Stephen Williams

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Martin Vickers and Stephen Williams
Monday 2nd February 2015

(9 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stephen Williams Portrait Stephen Williams
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I think the hon. Lady is referring to part M of the building regulations, which has a baseline requirement for accessibility. The housing standards review proposes to allow local authorities to adopt higher standards where they judge that to be applicable. Demography obviously varies between authorities, and Bolton will be quite different from Christchurch. I am a localist and believe that that is the right way forward.

Martin Vickers Portrait Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)
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Residents in North East Lincolnshire would welcome a local plan with high accessibility standards—indeed, they would welcome any local plan, but the Labour-controlled council will not produce one until 2017. In the meantime, villages are having many unnecessary planning applications. What advice can the Minister offer my local residents?

Stephen Williams Portrait Stephen Williams
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The Government strongly exhort all local authorities to have an up-to-date local plan in place, and 80% of authorities now have a published plan and 62% an adopted plan. I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman’s authority in Lincolnshire is not following suit.