Petitions

Nick Harvey Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I also thank Mr Speaker for allowing so many of us to present our petitions this evening. In fact, 119 petitions have been returned from constituencies around the country. Usually, at the close of business, the House empties, but instead, this evening, it has filled up with colleagues who have come to send a strong call from the countryside, a cry from the heart of England. I am delighted to see that the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), are present to hear from us tonight.

Contrary to the myth, rural residents earn less on average than people in cities and pay council tax that is £76 a head higher, yet they see urban areas receive 50% more per head, despite the obvious higher cost of delivering many services in a rural area. We are calling on the Government to make a change; all we ask for is a rural fair share.

The petition states:

The Petition of the residents of Beverley and Holderness,

Declares that the Petitioners believe that the Local Government Finance Settlement is unfair to rural communities; notes that the Rural Penalty sees urban areas receive 50% more support per head than rural areas despite higher costs in rural service delivery; and opposes the planned freezing of this inequity in the 2013–14 settlement for six years until 2020.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to reduce the Rural Penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.

[P001238]

[Sir Nick Harvey (North Devon) (LD)]

I rise to present a petition in the same terms on behalf of 1,671 of my constituents, who are heartily sickened by this injustice and believe that a 10% improvement by 2020 is the very least that could be done.

The Petition of the residents of North Devon.

[P001236]

[Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) on launching this excellent campaign. I am handing in a petition in the same terms as his on behalf of my constituents from the village of St Lawrence. However, they speak on behalf of all the residents of the Maldon district.

The Petition of the residents of Maldon.

[P001235]