Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

2nd reading
Wednesday 8th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew]

My hon. Friend is challenging me to expose my parliamentary expertise, but this is really in the hands of the Committee, so I would ask him to kindly lobby members of the Committee to help me get the Bill through, and I can help him with his aim.

Let me mention a key element that people have been raising, which is the issue of the five-year land supply. If an area has an up-to-date local plan, it will no longer need to demonstrate such a land supply, and that is so that we can stop speculative development.

[Chris Grayling]

Part of the problem we face—for example, in an area where there are small local district councils in charge of planning—is that, however much Ministers may say that targets are not targets, the local officers see them as such and see their task as being to implement a number that has landed on their desk. It is really important during this process that we break free of that. One of the reasons that councils are taking so long to form their plans is, frankly, that it takes so long for them to work out what on earth to do with the targets. Can my right hon. Friend please bear in mind, as he takes the Bill through, how we send clear messages to councils about what they are and what they are not expected to do?

[Stuart Andrew]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. He knows—we have had a number of conversations on this very issue—that these are the things we are looking at. I look forward to bringing them forward as part of the Bill.

I want to touch on the issue of build out. I have heard loud and clear from colleagues, and so has my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, about the issue of developers seeming to take a long time from approval to build houses. These commencement orders and an agreed rate of delivery will, we hope, help us to get such permissions built out much more quickly.

A number of Members—my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers), my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) and others—have raised their concerns about the national development management policies. One of the key aims of the Bill is to reduce the administrative burden on local councils so that they can concentrate on delivering high-quality, locally-led plans. That is why, through this Bill, we hope to shift the onus of delivering on national priorities to central Government through introducing a set of national development management policies. These policies will cover the most important national planning issues facing the sector, including net zero, tackling climate change and making sure that we are also dealing with heritage issues and protections of green belt.

To those who are concerned that these provisions will somehow override local plans, I would say that that is not the intention. The intention is to produce swifter, slimmer plans to remove the need for generic issues that apply universally, which will help us to reduce time-consuming duplication, and to ensure that local plans are more locally focused and relevant to the local communities. I hope that, during the passage of this Bill, we will be able to give more assurance on that.

HS2 Update

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 15th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Lady of all people should know that the last thing I would do is forget that places such as Warrington exist. The issue on the west coast main line north of Crewe is that much of the route through Warrington and up to Wigan is two-track. To try to fit the HS2 trains while meeting existing demand for freight and for passenger services from Liverpool and Manchester is almost impossible to engineer. We have, therefore, chosen the route that maximises rail capacity through Warrington. There will be HS2 services that serve Warrington and that, in addition, create the speed, connectivity and extra capacity that we need.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

This is, indeed, good news for the city of Leeds, which is already starting to experience the economic benefits, with companies such as Burberry investing in it because of HS2. I welcome in particular the integrated approach to Leeds station. Does the Secretary of State agree that all the towns and villages across west Yorkshire have an opportunity to benefit from HS2 through a properly integrated station, and that what we really need now is a properly integrated transport system in the city of Leeds, to cope with the number of people who want to invest there?

[Chris Grayling]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Such investment builds economic strength in cities such as Leeds, and that ripples out across the whole region by creating not only jobs in Leeds, but opportunities for businesses in west Yorkshire. This will be of huge benefit to the economy of the whole area around Leeds, permeating into the rural areas, and it will deliver real improvements to the economy of the north as a whole.

Airport Capacity

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I am keen to ensure that we do not see a big uplift in landing charges as a result of the project. I have been clear that the project must be brought through affordably and delivered in a way that represents best value for everyone involved. As for connectivity, I am not in a position to start setting out details about numbers of slots or exact mechanisms. I simply commit to the House that those things will be a binding part of what we eventually conclude.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

I, too, welcome the commitment about regional connectivity, not least because flights between Leeds Bradford and Heathrow have become increasingly popular. It is also important that passengers are able to get to Leeds Bradford airport. Will the Secretary of State meet me to explore how to make progress on the campaign for a rail link up to the airport, which would account for only a teeny-weeny amount of the money being spent on Crossrail?

[Chris Grayling]

I am happy to have that conversation with my hon. Friend.

Business of the House

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman has already had the opportunity this week to raise this matter, in Tuesday’s health debate. This Government have already increased spending on the health service and we are committed to spending a further £8 billion extra on it. We are, as yet, uncertain what his party’s policy is.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will be aware of the flawed review of children’s heart services in the previous Parliament. Although much can be welcomed in the new review, access to units is still omitted from the standards, which is causing concern. May we have a statement or debate as soon as possible so we can ensure that the review is first rate this time?

[Chris Grayling]

First, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he has done on behalf of his constituency and West Yorkshire on this deeply sensitive matter. The concern he has shown is typical of the approach he has taken as a constituency MP and it is one of the reasons he was so successfully re-elected to this place. There will be many opportunities in the coming days to requisition debates so that Ministers come to address these issues, either in Westminster Hall or in this Chamber, and I suggest he take advantage of those.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 17th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

21. What steps his Department is taking to protect children who are at risk of grooming.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Chris Grayling)]

In the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, the Government amended section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to reduce the number of initial occasions on which the defendant must meet or communicate with the child in question from two to one. That will permit more effective intervention by the police in relation to individuals who could otherwise have been prosecuted only when a second contact had been established.

[Stuart Andrew]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that the report into child sexual abuse in Rotherham highlighted the role of some taxi drivers in the town in facilitating abuse. The point has been raised with me that someone could apply for a licence in one authority and be rejected, but apply successfully in another authority. What measures are the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government taking to prevent that happening and to safeguard children?

[Chris Grayling]

A cross-Government working group is looking at what took place in Rotherham, what lessons can be learned, and what changes can be put in place. I agree with my hon. Friend that that area should be given serious consideration.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Tuesday 18th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

As I have said, I will not give a detailed accounting statement today, but I have looked at spending trends in the Department and I am satisfied that we are on course to meet our goals for the spending review period.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

My constituent, Lorraine Fraser, tragically lost her son who was brutally murdered by a gang of 30. Four of the murderers received life sentences, but two have been moved to an open prison under the Guittard arrangement, thereby depriving my constituent of the opportunity to attend the parole board, or present a victim impact statement. That has obviously had a devastating impact. Will the Minister agree to meet me and my constituent to discuss that worrying development?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Monday 23rd April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The actual process is that all moneys raised in such a way go to the Treasury first, but financial agreement has been reached between the Treasury and the HSE, so that appropriate amounts of money are passed on to the HSE so that it can carry out that regime as intended.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to support families and individuals facing multiple disadvantages.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Lady misunderstands the challenge we face. It is not Members of the House peddling myths; they are peddled all around the country, by local authority inspectors and middle managers in organisations who blame health and safety for things that have no basis in health and safety law. If we have a simplified regime that everyone can understand, it is much less likely that they can get away with doing that.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

4. What plans he has to support residential training colleges for disabled people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Lady is absolutely wrong. The voluntary sector is not being sidelined. On Friday in Stafford I visited the Shaw Trust—a major voluntary sector organisation that is already delivering support to people under the Work programme. There are many other organisations such as Groundwork delivering support right across the spectrum and there is specialist help available from some of the specialist groups. The Work programme has been designed to attract best practice, of which there is much in the voluntary sector. That is why it is such an important part of the Work programme.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

6. What recent steps he has taken to increase employment opportunities for disabled people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Grayling and Stuart Andrew

Monday 13th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Chris Grayling)]

Work experience and apprenticeships are central to improving the prospects of young unemployed people. In this year’s Budget the Chancellor announced funding for an additional 80,000 work experience placements, with eligibility widened to cover the 18 to 24 age group. In addition, we have announced tens of thousands of new apprenticeships. We will also be providing early access to the Work programme for young people from the most challenged backgrounds.

[Stuart Andrew]

I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. When the previous Government left office, apart from the record deficit, they left an extra 270,000 young unemployed. How are the Government working with business to ensure that new apprenticeships are what our economy needs to tackle youth unemployment and that we do not repeat the mistakes of the previous Government?