Oral Answers to Questions

Roberta Blackman-Woods Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

This is from the party that presented gambling as the chief source of regeneration for inner cities in the north, and that wanted to introduce super-casinos to turn around central Manchester and Liverpool. It is humbug. [Interruption.]

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

The Conservative chair of the Local Government Association said recently:

“High streets across the UK have suffered a cardiac arrest and it is now time to let local authorities step in and deliver the necessary life support.”

Will the Minister tell us how successful his policy of deregulating use classes and taking powers away from local councils and communities has been in regenerating our high streets?