Northern Ireland Protocol: UK Legal Obligations

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Tuesday 8th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point in that the best way forward is for us to agree that free trade agreement. I am confident that that is the EU’s overriding position and focus, and that that is why it is at the negotiations. I hope that we will be able to come to a positive conclusion that will be good for people across the United Kingdom and Europe—and, from my point of view as the Secretary of State, for the people of Northern Ireland.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The Conservative party manifesto described the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol as “a great new deal” that was “signed, sealed and ready.” It explicitly stated, “No more renegotiations.” It also promised to take our

“whole country out of the EU as one United Kingdom.”

Given that none of those things has proven to be true, and given that the Secretary of State has just conceded that the Government are proposing arrangements that would break international treaties, why should anyone at home or abroad trust a single word the Government say?

[Brandon Lewis]

Apart from the fact that countries around the world will look at our wider position, as I said earlier, on international law and the rule of law, for which we are a beacon around the world, if the hon. Gentleman looks back at his question, he will see that it reinforces the reason we are taking this position, which is to ensure that we deliver on the points that we included in our manifesto, where we specifically outlined the issues that are in the Command Paper published in May this year, which businesses are supportive of—businesses asked for that certainty—and said:

“We will ensure that Northern Ireland’s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the UK and that in the implementation of our Brexit deal, we maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal market.”

That is exactly what we will be doing in the UK internal market Bill when we publish it tomorrow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Monday 6th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department’s funding for the Metropolitan police.

[The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Brandon Lewis)]

I will not comment on the first part of the hon. Gentleman’s point, but I would say that we can be very clear that the Metropolitan police has the resources it needs to police London. It is the best-funded force in the country in terms of direct resource funding per head of population, and it also has the most officers per head of population.

[Wes Streeting]

Ilford North residents worried about bread and butter crime and policing on issues such as burglary feel unlucky because the average London taxpayer pays £61 a year to subsidise the national work of the Metropolitan police. Given that, will the Government accept the recommendation of Sir Richard Mottram’s panel and provide an additional £107 million a year to fund the vital national work of the Metropolitan police?

[Brandon Lewis]

Clearly, the Metropolitan police have a role to play in that national context that is different from other police forces. The review of the NICC—national and international capital city—contribution, which the Metropolitan police has outlined in conversations about the police funding formula review, will be done in line with that funding formula review.

Police Officer Safety

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Wednesday 2nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I will take some more interventions in a few moments.

I welcome the work that is being led by chief officers, and by the College of Policing under the leadership of Deputy Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, to consider the broader health and wellbeing of officers who are undertaking a stressful and demanding job on a daily basis. It is encouraging to note that all forces have signed up to the workplace wellbeing charter, and to hear about DCC Rhodes’s work with the charity Mind to give officers better access to the care that they need. Last week I was delighted to meet Gill Scott-Moore, chief executive officer of the Police Dependants’ Trust, to discuss, among other things, the mental health and wellbeing of police officers. Home Office officials will continue to work with those organisations and with the Department of Health, and to consider what more we can do.

There has already been a great deal of talk about resources today. I am proud of the Government’s record on tackling the deficit, and I am clear about the fact that policing has its role to play in meeting that challenge. I remind the House that in 2016-17—notwithstanding what the hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington may believe—police spending has been protected, and no police and crime commissioners who maximised their precepts have seen a reduction in their cash funding. That is a good deal for policing. Moreover, on top of that protection of direct resource funding for PCCs, counter-terrorism police funding increased in real terms to £670 million in 2016-17, and transformation funding provides an opportunity to invest in digitalisation, a diverse and flexible workforce, and new and more efficient capabilities to tackle cybercrime and other emerging crimes and threats. Ultimately, all decisions about local policing resources and roles are for chief constables, held to account by their directly accountable police and crime commissioners.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

I commend the Minister for telling us that the funding situation is great while keeping a straight face—it is an admirable performance—but how can he possibly square that with the fact that chief constables, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, borough commanders and the Mayor of London all agree that funding and resources are the key challenge to tackling street crime and the other crimes about which my constituents complain?

[Brandon Lewis]

The hon. Gentleman has raised a key point. First, we have protected funding in real, cash terms, as is clear from the spending review, so if PCCs are using their precepts, they have that opportunity. Indeed, in certain areas we have increased funding. What really matters is not the tired old debate about officer numbers, much as some people may want to engage in it. What people should be thinking about is the way in which officers, staff and volunteers are deployed, and the results of that approach are showing in the fall in crime that has been taking place since 2010.

Housing and Planning Bill

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Tuesday 12th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I shall give way in a few moments.

I join others in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park on the birth of his son.

We shall be looking to ensure that local authorities in London can make an agreement with the Government. These provisions will require two new affordable homes to be provided for every vacant, high-value dwelling that we expect to see sold.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Perhaps the Minister will explain why the joint duty on the Secretary of State, the Mayor of London and local housing authorities in Greater London to provide two units of affordable housing for each council home sold, which was set out in new clause 1 in Committee, failed to make it through to amendment 112, which we are debating today?

[Brandon Lewis]

Well, it did not get through Committee. As we shall come on to later, it is interesting to reflect on how few provisions Labour Members voted against in Committee, yet today they seem to have found a voice that they did not have before.

We all know—it has been spoken about on the Floor of the House today—that housing markets vary across our country, and that has been reflected in the legislation so that, for example, it is possible to define “high-value” areas differently in different areas. Housing need is most acute in London, as we have heard today—hence amendment 112.

Housing

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne does not seem to want to give housing association tenants the opportunity to buy their home, even though some 11,000 people have already expressed their interest in doing just that.

The public did consider the cocktail of regressive options being put forward by the main Opposition party, and they politely declined to take it up.

[Wes Streeting]

Actually, people in Redbridge were tired of the Conservatives running the council, which is why they elected a Labour council in May 2014. One of our pledges—I am still an unpaid councillor in Redbridge —was to introduce a landlord licensing scheme. When can we expect to hear from the Minister’s Department the go-ahead to deliver the manifesto pledge that so many residents are crying out for?

[Brandon Lewis]

Obviously, we took through selective licensing just before the general election. That cracked down on rogue landlords, which are mentioned in the Bill. I will be coming back to that matter as we make progress with the Bill. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s residents will be delighted to see that we are going further than any Labour Government ever did. Under our watch, the number of first-time buyers doubled, the number of new homes doubled and public support for new house building doubled.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

18. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government investment in affordable housing.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

We have successfully delivered 270,000 affordable homes since 2010. More specifically, the 2011 to 2015 affordable homes programme delivered 193,000 affordable homes, exceeding expectations by some 23,000.

--- Later in debate ---

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend gives a good example of a good, well run local authority delivering housing for its constituents. We are determined to stand by those authorities and work with them. That is why I am delighted that the Chancellor committed a further £8 billion in the spending review to deliver 400,000 affordable homes across the country.

[Wes Streeting]

Given that average property prices in London have exceeded half a million pounds, first-time buyers will need to earn at least £70,000 a year to buy their first home. Does the Minister consider that affordable and, if not, what effective action will he take to put home ownership within the reach of the many and not just the few at the top?

[Brandon Lewis]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman is now joining our call to build more homes that are affordable for people. Starts are up some 57% in his constituency since 2010, which is a good start, but we want to go even further. That is why we want to deliver more shared ownership, giving people a wider opportunity to get on the housing ladder, along with the 20% discount on starter homes through Help to Buy on just a 5% deposit.

Right to Buy

Debate between Wes Streeting and Brandon Lewis

Monday 12th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

The hon. Gentleman keeps talking about replacements as if homes are disappearing, but they are not. When people buy their home through right to buy, they will be living in that home. The income from that in the area will be used to build extra homes. The simple answer is that we want extra homes to be built, and I should have thought the hon. Gentleman would want to support us and his local authority in seeing more homes built to support the homeownership aspiration of people in London.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

I am afraid that there could not be a wider gulf between the Minister’s responses this afternoon and the reality facing ordinary Londoners, who are finding it increasingly hard not just to own but to rent their own home. Since he has so far shown himself incapable of answering very simple and straightforward questions from my right hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) and pretty much every other Member from London, let us give him another go. Will the Minister answer this question without obfuscation: will he guarantee that any home sold under the scheme will be replaced like for like in the locality from which it has been sold, such as a London borough? That is a straightforward question, so may we have a simple answer?

[Brandon Lewis]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone of his question, but he should bear in mind the fact that to have more homes available in London across the tenures, we need more homes to be built. Right to buy accesses finance to allow local authorities to build extra homes. More homes will be built—not just replacements —in London for Londoners.