"I am glad to speak to this Bill and also to follow my hon. Friends the Members for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) and for North Devon (Selaine Saxby). My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon and I have worked extremely hard and we understand the challenges in our constituencies …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"I am glad to answer that question, but just to finish what I was going to say earlier, I commend the Minister for the way in which he has engaged with all of us in trying to get this right.
"I can only echo all that has been said so far about the challenging situation in Devon and Cornwall. This acute problem particularly affects Devon and Cornwall, and I commend my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) for securing an extremely timely debate.
"And stop the opportunities for fraud. At the end of the day, it is fraud for someone to say they have a business that they do not have. I would happily welcome that.
Today, I want to explain why the pressure on housing has intensified in recent months and years. …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"I completely welcome and agree with that intervention. I do not believe the Treasury deliberately intended to force private landlords out of the market, but that is certainly what is happening.
Energy performance certificates are a pet subject of mine and a debate on their own. Rental properties now require …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"My hon. Friend raises an important point about the housing allowance. The average price in Cornwall of three-bedroom rental is £1,400 a month; does he agree that that is completely out of reach for most working families on an average Cornish income?..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"It is brilliant news that small and medium-sized builders will get support to build 42,000 homes. Will the Secretary of State meet me and my Cornish colleagues to make sure those homes are retained by people who live in Cornwall?..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
That this House has considered access to affordable housing and planning reform.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to take the lead in today’s debate. I would like to declare a registered financial …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"I would not want a tabloid paper to misinterpret what I said about coming to Cornwall; please do still come. I am going to Devon as well, so let us not argue about jam and cream. Absolutely, the topic of the debate I had in 2018 was that very thing: …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention. That is a theme with which we are familiar in Cornwall. In fact, in 2015 we signed a devolution deal that talked about one public estate. The idea was that all publicly owned land would be used for the benefit of the …..." Derek Thomas - View Speech