Net Zero Emissions Target

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Wednesday 12th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that our heritage and skills in shipbuilding are now being put to use throughout the country in marine energy and offshore wind in particular, but he will acknowledge that the commitment in the sector deal was to increase UK content. That was the right ambition to establish and it was agreed between the industry and the Government, although it can of course be kept under review. We always want to see content produced in the UK, including in the very shipyards that the hon. Gentleman mentioned that were so important in our first industrial revolution.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Ind)]

I warmly welcome the commitment to net zero emissions. Does the Secretary of State agree that to help to achieve that we need to do far more to encourage people out of their cars where possible and to make more journeys by cycling or walking? We know what works to achieve European levels of cycling; will the Secretary of State commit to looking into the evidence and meeting me and the all-party group on cycling to see what further can be done to achieve those targets?

[Greg Clark]

I would be delighted to do that. I am a strong advocate and have campaigned for and achieved the establishment of some important new cycle routes in my constituency. They are a good example of something that makes a contribution to the environment as well as giving us all opportunities to enjoy the fresh air and in many cases the countryside, including in the hon. Lady’s beautiful constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman is a thoughtful Member with regard to these matters, having chaired the then Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, and he will see in the Green Paper that we are candid about the need to maintain the pace. Indeed, we have increased public investment. He was right to mention the US, but actually the proportion of public to business investment is higher in this country than in Germany, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and other countries besides. We are building on strength, but we want to take things further, and I look forward to his contribution to the consultation.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

There is great concern about the future of fusion research after Britain pulls out of the EU and Euratom. Will the Secretary of State reassure us that he will continue to support and fully fund the Joint European Torus project and other joint research projects such as ITER—the international thermonuclear experimental reactor—after Britain leaves the EU?

[Greg Clark]

The collaboration between scientists and those in the nuclear sector is one of the important aspects of the continued co-operation that we want and intend to see continue.

Local Government Finance (England)

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Wednesday 10th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is a passionate advocate and he makes his case very well. I think that all Members across the House would recognise that after 10 years it is appropriate to look again at the cost of providing services in different areas—rural as well as urban—and at the changes in demographic pressures in that time. That sensible approach has been welcomed widely.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Is it not true that the long-standing unfairness has been the penalty against rural areas? Areas such as Devon have a low-wage economy, but the highest council taxes. This settlement addresses that imbalance without penalising areas such as Torbay. I therefore congratulate my right hon. Friend on a very sensible settlement.

[Greg Clark]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. Every local government finance settlement has to strike a balance between the very different needs of different areas of the country. Most people who have reflected on the settlement that I have proposed, including the Local Government Association and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, have recognised that I have been fair to places, such as those she mentions, that have higher costs—Torbay has benefited from the change in the formula—and that I have committed to making sure that the new system for 100% business rate retention is founded on an accepted analysis of the costs and pressures that different authorities face.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I pay tribute to him for conducting a well-reasoned and forensic argument that has been persuasive, and I am grateful for the manner in which he has done that. He is right. It is a false assumption that because an area is rural, it is wealthy and prosperous. Some of the most challenging circumstances are in the most rural areas. That is why, after more than a decade, it is long overdue that we should look at the costs of delivering services in rural areas. We should look at the pressures that they face and set the retention of business rates accordingly, so that they can be recognised in a way that they have not been over recent years.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement today and thank him for listening to the concerns of rural areas. He will know, however, that the demographic pressures in places such as Devon are severe, and that the precept, welcome as it is, will quite meet the cost of the rise in the national living wage. During his review, will he set out whether he will listen to other proposals to create a sustainable long-term settlement for social care, which has been described as unfinished business in the “Five Year Forward View”?

[Greg Clark]

I certainly will. I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s words. One knows that more people choose to retire to places such as Devon than to other parts of the country, and it is important that that is recognised in the funds that are available. As everyone knows, my hon. Friend chairs a very important Committee of this House, and one of the essential tasks of this Government over the years ahead will be to make sure that health and social care come together. They are two sides of the same coin. The same people are being looked after, whether by councils or by the NHS. One of the things I am determined to do is to make sure that we have a much better connection between the NHS and social care, and I would be grateful for her advice and that of her Committee in how we do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am glad the right hon. Gentleman reminded us of the name of his candidate, because I think it had escaped many of us in the House. I am happy to confirm the importance of all our police officers, including PCSOs, in keeping our streets safe.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Simon Stevens has described social care funding as “unresolved business” from the spending review. Does the Secretary of State agree with him that it is time for a fundamental rethink about how we fund social care in the future?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend, who has a deep and long-standing interest in the matter, will know that the funding of adult care needs to be done jointly between local councils and the NHS. The Health Secretary and I are working very closely to make sure that the funds that the Chancellor has made available are put to good use so that our elderly people are properly cared for, whether they are in the charge of councils or in our hospitals.

Housing and Planning Bill

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I certainly can. This shows the benefit of having a conversation with everyone who is affected. Colleagues across the House wanted to be reassured that, in those areas where it simply is not possible to provide a new home, a solution could be found to allow their housing stock to be maintained while at the same time allowing those in rural communities, who have the same aspirations as others, to own a home of their own. What we have agreed with the housing association sector, through its proposals, is that, while an association will be able to say that it is not possible to build a new home in certain areas, people will be entitled—this is a real opportunity for our constituents across the country—to apply their discount to a new home that the housing association will build in the nearest area in which it is possible to build one. That is a real result for every rural area in the country.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that, if housing associations decide to sell off higher-value properties in rural communities, there must be like-for-like replacement in those communities? Otherwise, the demographic loss of young people from small rural communities will continue.

[Greg Clark]

The advantage of reaching an agreement with the housing associations, which are locally based and whose mission is to provide homes in their areas, is that they are positively enthusiastic about it, as the head of the National Housing Federation made clear to the Communities and Local Government Committee the other day.

National Planning Policy Framework

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Tuesday 24th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I do indeed, and that is not untypical. In the town of Thame, in the constituency of my Parliamentary Private Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell), a neighbourhood plan is being promoted that involves the provision of housing for local people. We are seeing that across the country.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

I congratulate the Minister on an excellent consultation, which showed all Departments how it should be done. Localism really matters to our constituents, and nowhere more so than in Totnes. Their only regret is that it has come late, and they would like to be able to set back the clock and have local consultation on a number of projects, such as the Riverside development, that are causing great local concern.

National Planning Policy Framework

Debate between Sarah Wollaston and Greg Clark

Tuesday 27th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The written statement that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State made on Friday made it clear that the protection of the green belt applies to Traveller sites as it does to other developments.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Residents in Churston are desperately trying to protect one of Torbay’s last and most beautiful green spaces. It is home to the rare and lovely cirl bunting. Will sustainable development sustain the lovely cirl bunting?

[Greg Clark]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is a twitcher of some renown and will be better placed than I to advise on whether this is a bird that enjoys protection and therefore whether the sites in which it nests enjoy the rigorous protections available.