Oral Answers to Questions

Nigel Mills Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

We believe that it is right to have a locally led approach in this regard, but we have confirmed that we are committed to reviewing this policy in 2018 under the violence against women and girls strategy. We are looking at all the options, and we have not ruled out nationally commissioning refuges and refuge beds if that is found to be a better solution.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

13. What progress he has made on devolving decision making to local communities in (a) Derbyshire and (b) the east midlands.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Jake Berry)]

Following the launch of our industrial strategy, the Government are in the early stages of designing a devolution framework for England. Areas such as Derbyshire and the east midlands should seek widely supported, ground-up proposals in line with the framework.

[Nigel Mills]

After the failure of the earlier devolution proposals, can the Minister confirm that the Government are still interested in further proposals coming from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, perhaps along the lines of the Derby and Nottingham metro proposal published a couple of weeks ago? Can he also confirm that there is now no requirement for an elected mayor?

[Jake Berry]

We are of course aware of Derby and Nottingham City Councils’ metro proposals, although we have not received a formal submission to the Government. I can confirm that the door remains open for devolution in this area and that, in line with our manifesto, there is no requirement for rural areas to have a mayor.