Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Smith and Simon Hoare

Monday 4th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hoare]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place and echo the remarks of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State; it is great to see him back on the Front Bench.

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. Nobody is going to doubt that section 114 is a serious issue. As I have said to the Local Government Association and others, I do not think it is right for us to name and shame, point the finger or assign blame. We are intent on working with councils that have already alerted us to see what we can do to help, and on working alongside councils that have concerns to ensure they do not fall into that situation. I am not going to give a running commentary on that, save to make this pledge: we will work with those councils to ensure that they can continue to deliver for their voters.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the use of land for renewable energy generation.