Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Timms Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

In his previous existence, the hon. Gentleman would not have had the temerity to cite that set of figures, which can be achieved only by counting off-street parking, which means the more off-street parking a council provides—the friendlier it makes it for motorists—the worse those figures appear, so frankly I regard them as bogus. They reflect the anti-car policies of the Labour party, which consistently cut the number of parking spaces and instructed local authorities to increase car parking charges.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of local authorities’ use of article 4 directions to limit excessive occurrence of particular use types on high streets.

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

Local authorities are required to notify my Department of article 4 directions before they are brought into force. In the year to 31 October 2013, 97 article 4 directions have been made by 43 local authorities.

[Stephen Timms]

Today the Treasury has finally moved on payday loans, which is welcome, so why is the Department making it easier for payday lenders, betting shops and fast-food takeaways to open up without planning permission? Does he recognise the concerns of the Local Government Association and others that article 4 directions are

“ineffective, inefficient and heavily bureaucratic”?

[Brandon Lewis]

I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman has shown a consistent interest in this area. Article 4 directions apply to different parts of the sectors that he has outlined and local authorities can use licensing and a range of other powers to keep things under control. I would suggest that the right hon. Gentleman discuss the matter with his Front-Bench team, which seems happy to be entertained by the gambling industry rather than do something productive about it for the benefit of our high streets.