Alex Easton
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Oral Answers to Questions
Alex Easton Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kirsty McNeill
The hon. Member and I have had a chance to discuss this matter previously and, as I have indicated, these are Labour priorities guided by Labour values. We have committed to targeting funding at the places that need it most, based on a double deprivation index, and I am afraid her constituency simply did not qualify.
Alex Easton (North Down) (Ind)
Does the Minister accept that if Pride in Place in Scotland is to mean anything, as with elsewhere in the UK, it must include targeted funding for high streets and town centres to bring long-term vacant premises back into productive use?
Kirsty McNeill
That is precisely one of the focuses of the Pride in Place programme. Our high streets have been neglected for far too long and are at the real heart of community pride. I am delighted that so many of the Pride in Place bids are focused on exactly that.