Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Stephen Crabb
Main Page: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)Department Debates - View all Stephen Crabb's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(2 years, 6 months ago)
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Michael Gove
I know. Some politicians don’t eat their own words—I swallow mine whole.
It is those MSPs who are closer to their communities, and unlike the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald), they want the UK Government to work with them.
Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)
It has been very good to work closely with Pembrokeshire County Council over the last 12 months on a successful bid to the levelling-up fund to improve Haverfordwest town centre. Does my right hon. Friend agree that when it comes to Wales, local authorities really value the new direct relationship with the UK Government, and that the levelling-up fund creates new opportunities for partnership that do not exclude devolved Government and provide more opportunities for local Members of Parliament to get in and help their communities work on solutions?
Michael Gove
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. When I talk on calls to local authorities in Scotland, as well as local authorities in Wales, it is striking how grateful they are that the UK Government are taking a pro-devolution, pro-decentralisation approach. That is in stark contrast to the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Government, who are centralising power in Cardiff and Edinburgh and not listening to the communities so well represented on these Benches.