Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Attorney General

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Crabb Excerpts
Tuesday 28th April 2020

(3 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Christopher Pincher Portrait Christopher Pincher
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In addition to the points I made to my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith), I emphasise that authorities up and down the country, including Buckinghamshire Council, are performing admirably by supporting businesses, charities and the most vulnerable in society. As I set out in my earlier answer, I am happy to say that Buckinghamshire Council received more than £10 million from the first tranche of funding, which was paid on 27 March, and it will receive further support from the second tranche, for which allocations will be announced imminently. I assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to work with councils such as hers over the coming weeks to ensure that they are managing as the pandemic progresses.

Stephen Crabb Portrait Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)
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What plans the Government have to support the recovery of the housing market after the covid-19 outbreak.

Christopher Pincher Portrait The Minister for Housing (Christopher Pincher)
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As Mike Yarwood used to say, “This is me”.

The Government have engaged closely with the housing industry and stand ready to support its recovery. I have spoken to the Home Builders Federation, large developers, small and medium-sized enterprises, niche developers, metal matrix composite manufacturers, housing associations, the private rented sector and the National Residential Landlords Association to identify their challenges. Building on the immediate support that the Chancellor has already provided, we will bring forward measures to support renters and buyers, as well as continuing to drive forward a package of housing reforms to get Britain building again.

Stephen Crabb Portrait Stephen Crabb [V]
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It is vital for delivering our national housebuilding mission and for the wider economy that we get the construction sector back to work as quickly as is safely possible. While it is extremely welcome that some of the UK’s largest construction firms have announced that they will resume work, smaller firms are nervous about returning without a full green light from Government, so what measures is the Minister putting in place to ensure that the construction industry gets all the support it needs to make sound decisions about getting sites reopened?