Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Eddie Hughes

Monday 19th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con)]

What steps he is taking to promote energy-efficient house building.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Eddie Hughes)]

The future homes standard will ensure that new homes produce 75% less carbon than those being built today. Those properties will be future-proofed, with low-carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency, and they will not need any further retrofit to become net zero in line with the electricity supply. That is what building back greener looks like.

[Jeremy Wright]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. As he knows, building regulations are one tool we can use to improve the environmental performance of new homes, and I am conscious that the Government are consulting on how those regulations might be reformed. However, as he also knows, the regulations in place at the moment require compliance by developers to a design standard rather than a performance-in-use standard. Is his Department considering whether that should change? In any event, when does he expect revised and improved building regulations to be in place to compel that improved environmental performance?

[Eddie Hughes]

My right hon. and learned Friend will be delighted to know that we will update the regulations relating to fuel, power and ventilation this year, in advance of the introduction of the future homes standard in 2025. But we are not waiting for 2025; in the short term, our priority will be to implement an interim 2021 part L uplift. That sounds a bit esoteric, but it means that there will be a 31% reduction in carbon production compared with the 2013 standard. With regard to the point that he makes about performance standard versus design standard, I would be delighted to meet him and his constituent to discuss that further.

Free TV Licences: Over-75s

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Eddie Hughes

Tuesday 11th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

I was not present at those discussions, but it is very clear, is it not, that if someone wants to know roughly how much the financial obligation they are taking on will be, there are ways in which to establish that. One would assume that the BBC carried out exactly that exercise, and therefore knew what it was taking on when it made the agreement; hence the disappointment that I have expressed today.

[Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)]

It appears to me that the elderly, vulnerable people of Willenhall, Bloxwich and Walsall North are being asked to contribute to the £1.75 million salary of Gary Lineker, which does not seem particularly fair. Does the Secretary of State agree?

[Jeremy Wright]

My hon. Friend has heard me say that I think one of the things that the BBC must always have an eye on is the need to control salary levels, which, as he says, the people who are licence fee payers expect to be within sensible bounds. I know he will recognise that one of the reasons we know these things is the transparency that the Government have brought about, and that is a good thing, but I think he has made an interesting and fair point.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Eddie Hughes

Thursday 23rd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

The hon. Gentleman is right that there are not enough tickets available for fans, either on Saturday or next week in Azerbaijan. I think we can agree that as many people who are passionate about their team as possible should have the chance to see them succeed and compete on the European stage, just as they can on the national stage. We believe that it is important to say to UEFA that that is a message we all support. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising it, so that we can communicate that message with clarity.

It is important that we spread the benefits of the major European competitions around Europe. I do not believe it is right that they should be held in only a small subset of European countries. There are huge economic and sporting benefits to be derived from them, and countries should have access to those benefits, but only if they are prepared to give access to passionate football supporters.

[Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)]

T2. I add my best wishes to the England women’s team for success in the forthcoming World cup. Will the Minister give them the best possible send-off by ensuring that the Government commit increased funding to football facilities at grassroots level?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Eddie Hughes

Thursday 1st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Wright]

Yes.

[Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)]

15. At 3 o’clock on Saturday, Sporting Khalsa will be taking on the mighty Hucknall Town in Willenhall. What else can the Secretary of State do to support such grassroots football in my constituency?

[Jeremy Wright]

I am not available for selection, but there is a huge amount to be done to encourage people to participate. We have talked about facilities, but this is also about people: those who play, those who coach and those who encourage. We need to do more on all those things.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Eddie Hughes

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Eddie Hughes (Walsall North) (Con)]

6. What steps the CPS is taking to strengthen global co-operation in prosecuting human trafficking and modern slavery.

[The Attorney General (Jeremy Wright)]

Later this month, the Crown Prosecution Service will host an international summit for senior prosecutors from 21 countries around the world. It is an ambitious summit that aims to identify better ways to support victims and witnesses and to establish a strong, active international network to tackle more actively the crime of modern slavery.

[Eddie Hughes]

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that modern slavery and human trafficking are international problems that require the collaboration of the Crown Prosecution Service and similar judicial systems from many countries to address them?

[The Attorney General]

I do agree and it is important that we work with partners around the world. The CPS has 30 prosecutors located in other countries and, of course, we agreed last year at the United Nations to double our spend overseas in combating modern slavery.