Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Wragg and Sajid Javid

Monday 16th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Wragg]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to support a better controlled and fairer migration policy. I wonder whether he can tell me when the long-delayed White Paper on the subject will be published, so that the public know that we are taking it seriously.

[Sajid Javid]

I know that my hon. Friend will agree that it is fantastic that we will now have an opportunity—for the first time in decades—to design our own immigration system. We should take that seriously, as we are. It will be led by the White Paper, which will come out soon after the summer recess, and an immigration Bill that will make all the changes that are recommended and debated in Parliament.

National Planning Policy Framework

Debate between William Wragg and Sajid Javid

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I empathise very much with the issue that the hon. Lady has raised. It is an issue in many local areas, not just Bristol. That is why, given the concern that we all share across the House, we have the independent review being undertaken by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset. I do not want to pre-empt it, but I can assure her that it is a serious review and will lead to serious action.

[Mr William Wragg (Hazel Grove) (Con)]

With specific reference to the Greater Manchester spatial framework, can my right hon. Friend reiterate the protections that are in place for the green belt and the need to pursue a vigorous brownfield-first policy? Will he also give further consideration to a county-based calculation of housing need?

[Sajid Javid]

When it comes to housing need, the approach that we plan to take is what we have set out today, but given that this is a draft consultation, I am happy to listen to any representations from my hon. Friend. I can also give him an assurance that the existing green-belt protections remain in place. In fact, when it comes to environmental protections we have gone even further in the draft NPPF. For example, the protection that we have given to ancient woodland is the highest ever.

Housing White Paper

Debate between William Wragg and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 7th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

We have increased local councils’ borrowing ability, but where the most ambitious councils that have good, sensible plans want to come forward to do a deal with central Government, we are listening. That invitation is in the White Paper.

[William Wragg (Hazel Grove) (Con)]

Can a self-imposed housing target become the exceptional circumstance to build on the green belt?

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend helps me to highlight, again, the way in which we have tackled the green belt in this White Paper by keeping all its existing protections and demonstrating, for the first time, exactly all the hoops a local authority has to go through to show us categorically that it has looked at all other reasonable options.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between William Wragg and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[William Wragg (Hazel Grove) (Con)]

13. What steps he is taking to reduce the level of business regulation.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

The Government committed in their manifesto to cut £10 billion of business red tape through the business impact target. We will report on our progress in June this year.

[William Wragg]

The Government are doing well to cut regulation at home, but we cannot ignore the fact that the most burdensome regulations on British companies come from the European Union and cost British business £22 billion a year. Given that there were 1,469 new pieces of EU regulation and 51 EU directives in 2015, is it not clear that the only way to end the cost to British business is to vote to leave?

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the issue of cutting business regulation, but I do not recognise the £22 billion a year figure for EU regulation. I am sure that he will agree that as well as looking at the costs of regulation, we should consider the benefits of the single market. With 500 million consumers, it is the world’s largest economic zone, and there is no doubt that it helps to generate jobs throughout Britain, including in Greater Manchester.