"I will certainly meet my hon. Friend and his colleagues. It is essential for homes to be built in every community, so that young people and rising generations throughout the country have a chance to continue to be part of the communities in which they were born and raised...." Greg Clark - View Speech
"The average council tax has long been higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In response to the consultation on the local government financial settlement, several councils and hon. Members have pointed out the extra costs of providing services in rural areas—something that I am determined to address...." Greg Clark - View Speech
"I have been looking carefully at the responses to the consultation on local government finance, including that from Leicestershire, which seems to make a perfectly reasonable point that the essential requirement is that the underlying formula should reflect the different costs of providing services in different places. If my hon. …..." Greg Clark - View Speech
"It is a long-established fact that Conservative councils offer lower council tax than Labour councils, which accounts for their success and their majority in local government...." Greg Clark - View Speech
"My hon. Friend knows that we are moving to a world in which councils will be funded by council tax and business rates. It is essential that the formula underpinning that is fair to all types of authority. That has been very clear in representations that he and others have …..." Greg Clark - View Speech
"I have written no such letter. I remind the hon. Gentleman that council tax doubled under the previous Government. On all the forecasts that we have made, it will be lower in real terms than it was at the beginning of the last Parliament...." Greg Clark - View Speech
"Since the beginning of January, the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill has been enacted and given Royal Assent, the Housing and Planning Bill has passed its Third Reading, the voluntary housing association right to buy has been launched in five areas, and direct commissioning of housing has been launched.
"I understand the point the right hon. Lady makes, which is very reasonable. It is important that the funding that local government receives reflects the very latest information available in terms of the population. I have reflected on the representations that have been made in the consultation, and I will …..." Greg Clark - View Speech
"I will respond on the provisional financial settlement shortly. It is important for every type of authority that its needs and the costs of providing services are properly met, and that is the Government’s objective...." Greg Clark - View Speech
"I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. In the spending review the Chancellor established a fund to decontaminate brownfield sites so that they can be made available for house building in the way that my hon. Friend recommends...." Greg Clark - View Speech