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Queen's speech debate on Thursday, 8 November 2007, in the House of Commons, led by Hazel Blears. The answering member was Lord Pickles.

Local Government and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Debate on the Address

Queen's speech debate (third day) on local government and environment food and rural affairs.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
467 c260-369 
Session
2007-08
Department
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Communities and Local Government
Procedure
Addresses to the Crown
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Speaker | 467 c287 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before I call the next speaker I remind the House that Mr. Speaker has placed a 12-minute lim...
Hazel Blears | 467 c266 (Link to this contribution) Enforcement has improved, but issues still remain. We intend to carry out a review of the building r...
Show all contributions (163)
Hazel Blears | 467 c266 (Link to this contribution) Yes, indeed. In fact, we want to go further on that agenda and to make sure that we do not have rigi...
Tom Brake | 467 c266 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of green homes, will the Secretary of State confirm that the Merton rule will be pres...
Peter Ainsworth | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Lady as I should like her to correct the impression she may have jus...
Hazel Blears | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman support the building of 3 million new homes by 2020?
David Kidney | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) When building these new homes, can we bear in mind the standards to which they are built? Will the n...
Hazel Blears | 467 c265-6 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Quality as well as quantity is fundamental,...
Peter Ainsworth | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) The key issue is where the homes are to be built and what homes are to be built. I should be interes...
Hazel Blears | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) When faced with a direct question the hon. Gentleman wants to move the issue on. I think we have our...
Yvette Cooper | 467 c273-4 (Link to this contribution) I realise that the hon. Gentleman is not very keen on answering questions and has not yet answered a...
Lord Pickles | 467 c273 (Link to this contribution) It is a pretty good pilot, for £15 million. When the press release came out, there was nothing about...
Hazel Blears | 467 c274 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I could invite the hon. Gentleman to visit Seedley and Langworthy in my constituency, where ...
Lord Pickles | 467 c274 (Link to this contribution) Black hole? Is that from the Government who have just revised borrowing requirements by £11.6 billio...
Mark Prisk | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has rightly highlighted a number of central Government cock-ups. Does he also recogni...
Lord Pickles | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I could ask my hon. Friends to allow me to make a little progress, because I am keen to hear...
Lord Pickles | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) The Soviet tractor factory approach to density has not worked. It has just created a number of flats...
Lord Pickles | 467 c273 (Link to this contribution) I am not entirely sure that that is true. I was about to say, having mentioned Nikita Khrushchev, th...
Colin Challen | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) In Leeds, the Conservative-controlled council, with the aid of its Liberal Democrat bedfellows, has ...
Lord Pickles | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) I probably should have warned the right hon. Lady that I have eight pages of quotes from Labour Memb...
Yvette Cooper | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, Government Members back more homes, and increased housing in th...
Lord Pickles | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) In a moment, when I have finished the list. It is a pleasure to see the Under-Secretary of State fo...
Lord Pickles | 467 c272-3 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry that the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) has a sense-of-humour failure...
Speaker | 467 c272 (Link to this contribution) I have absolutely no control over the content of a Front Bencher's speech.
Gwyneth Dunwoody | 467 c272 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Since there seems to be happy discussion of the fact that not only...
Lord Pickles | 467 c272 (Link to this contribution) I understand that the hon. Gentleman may be on the way to another place. As far as I know, there are...
Colin Challen | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Yvette Cooper | 467 c273 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman believes that bricks and mortar—new homes—are indeed needed, will he take the ...
Lord Pickles | 467 c270 (Link to this contribution) May I join the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in paying tribute to our fire...
Hazel Blears | 467 c269-70 (Link to this contribution) Yes, that is exactly the right approach: identify the pressures and come up with practical proposals...
Lord Pickles | 467 c270-1 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, but I must tell my hon. Friend that I always think that it is marvellous to be in the Ch...
Charles Walker | 467 c270 (Link to this contribution) We wish she was not here as well.
Mark Prisk | 467 c269 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for belatedly giving way. Let us go back to the interesting ...
Hazel Blears | 467 c268-9 (Link to this contribution) I will give way in a moment. I welcome the commission's recommendations on information packs, on ex...
Sally Keeble | 467 c269 (Link to this contribution) May I bring to my right hon. Friend's attention a good example of practical work in that respect? In...
Hazel Blears | 467 c269 (Link to this contribution) Clearly, a range of people have expressed concern about the current best available figures. I am the...
Lord Pickles | 467 c271 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I will give way to him in a few moments, because I want to di...
Shailesh Vara | 467 c268 (Link to this contribution) In order to have that honest debate, will the right hon. Lady give an undertaking that all figures o...
Lord Jackson of Peterborough | 467 c268 (Link to this contribution) I am trying to take the right hon. Lady at her word about having an honest debate. However, does she...
Hazel Blears | 467 c267-8 (Link to this contribution) There are already different targets for different kinds of brownfield land. I understand that the ho...
Tom Brake | 467 c267 (Link to this contribution) When the Secretary of State is examining the whole area of planning, will she look at the definition...
Hazel Blears | 467 c266-7 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. Initially, the regulation will not extend to council-run pr...
Sally Keeble | 467 c266 (Link to this contribution) Will the new agency also regulate council housing? In Northampton, the housing service is going down...
Hazel Blears | 467 c268 (Link to this contribution) The figures that we have from the Office for National Statistics, which operates entirely independen...
Hazel Blears | 467 c268 (Link to this contribution) I need to press on because otherwise hon. Members will not have the chance to make their contributio...
Gwyneth Dunwoody | 467 c287-9 (Link to this contribution) Debates on Queen's Speeches always involve a wide range of subjects, and this is perhaps a good oppo...
Edward Leigh | 467 c290 (Link to this contribution) One of the delights of this debate is that one can range widely over the body politic. If you will f...
Lembit Opik | 467 c290 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman represents a fairly rural area, as do I. Does he agree that rural communities sen...
Edward Leigh | 467 c291-2 (Link to this contribution) I heartily agree with that. Of course, this will be denied by the Government, but that is the view o...
Lembit Opik | 467 c292 (Link to this contribution) Does it strike the hon. Gentleman as ironic that, given the successes that we had in Northern Irelan...
Edward Leigh | 467 c292-3 (Link to this contribution) Of course I agree with that. Probably everyone sitting in this Chamber agrees deep down, although th...
Karen Buck | 467 c293 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Edward Leigh | 467 c293 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I may only give way a couple of times and my time is about to run out. I have iden...
Austin Mitchell | 467 c294-5 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. I shall not follow him all...
Tom Brake | 467 c285 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that getting that balance correct would involve ensuring that certain issu...
Lord Stunell | 467 c285 (Link to this contribution) Having listened to the comments from the Conservative Front Bench, I was under the impression that t...
Clive Efford | 467 c285-6 (Link to this contribution) I understand the frustration with the time that the current planning process takes, particularly whe...
Lord Stunell | 467 c285 (Link to this contribution) That intervention brings me neatly on to consideration of what is wrong with the planning system at ...
Mark Field | 467 c285 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman seriously suggesting that a Liberal Democrat Government would prevent any appe...
Lord Stunell | 467 c286 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I do think that, and I also think that if we ever reach the point where the current Government,...
Roger Williams | 467 c286-7 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that, strangely, among the issues that land on the desk of, and are decide...
Lord Stunell | 467 c286 (Link to this contribution) I do not pretend to be an expert, nor do I want to offer an opinion about that crossing, which I kno...
David Kidney | 467 c286 (Link to this contribution) The debate on planning has so far largely focused on housing. Will the hon. Gentleman say something ...
Lord Stunell | 467 c287 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend tempts me into some very difficult territory. I will listen carefully to his further ...
Nick Hurd | 467 c278 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has spoken passionately about the need for sustainable communities. Does he share my ...
Lord Pickles | 467 c278-9 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the whole House is grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that he did to bring that ...
Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top | 467 c279-81 (Link to this contribution) It is some time since I have addressed the House from the Back Benches—about 18 and a half years, I ...
Lord Stunell | 467 c281-3 (Link to this contribution) We share the Secretary of State's grief and concern at the loss of the firefighters' lives. I, and m...
Martin Horwood | 467 c284 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that the flipside of that is that communities should be able to refuse mor...
Lord Stunell | 467 c285 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point: how do we strike the balance between the requirements of lo...
Tom Brake | 467 c283 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that although the eco-towns proposal is clearly of environmental interest,...
Lord Stunell | 467 c283 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a strong point. I know that his borough of Sutton is beginning to explore the p...
Lembit Opik | 467 c284 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend join me in expressing gratitude to the Centre for Alternative Technology, which ...
Lord Stunell | 467 c284 (Link to this contribution) The fact is that the country is bubbling with ideas. The work has been done, and there are people re...
Lord Pickles | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) In truth, I do not think that the people across the Dispatch Box are cynical or incompetent; I just ...
Andrew Miller | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) We have listened for nearly 20 minutes to the hon. Gentleman's rather poor stand-up turn, which woul...
Mark Field | 467 c275 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is doing a tremendous job of highlighting 10 years of failure from the Government. Do...
Lord Pickles | 467 c277 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree. Matters like these are marred by political prejudice—that is the nature of the thi...
Lord Pickles | 467 c277 (Link to this contribution) I will, but I am afraid that this will be the last time that I will give way.
Lembit Opik | 467 c277 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman mentioned nuclear power and infrastructure projects. Does he agree that, specific...
Lord Pickles | 467 c276-7 (Link to this contribution) Okay—it will be interesting to see how that is implemented. Is the reality instead that the Governme...
Lembit Opik | 467 c277 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Lord Pickles | 467 c275-6 (Link to this contribution) I was brought up in a terraced house and raised for most of my life on a council estate. Do not patr...
Karen Buck | 467 c295 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend also aware that the financial pressure that some housing associations face has cau...
David Drew | 467 c296 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, but he will know that one of the biggest problems faci...
Austin Mitchell | 467 c295-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that point, and I was about to deal with the role of the RSLs. T...
Lord Bannside | 467 c297-8 (Link to this contribution) I should like to associate myself and my colleagues with the sympathy expressed for the fighters aga...
Austin Mitchell | 467 c296-7 (Link to this contribution) That is true, and the Government must take account of the point that my hon. Friend makes. How can a...
David Drew | 467 c301 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that we keep the brownfield site quota uppermost in our m...
Clive Betts | 467 c298-301 (Link to this contribution) In response to the Queen's Speech, I want to address certain issues that affect my constituents. The...
David Evennett | 467 c302 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to be able to take part in the debate on the Queen's Speech, but the contents of the Go...
Clive Efford | 467 c302 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Jamie Reed | 467 c304 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree with the Government that we need new nuclear power to cut carbon emiss...
David Evennett | 467 c304-5 (Link to this contribution) Nuclear power will be discussed later. I am trying to get across—[Interruption.] I am discussing the...
Clive Efford | 467 c304 (Link to this contribution) I just want to congratulate the hon. Gentleman on doing a U-turn on a bridge that has not yet been b...
David Evennett | 467 c304 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman always gets his facts wrong. He is known for that locally as well as in the House...
David Evennett | 467 c302-3 (Link to this contribution) Not at the moment; I have not even got started on my speech. The hon. Gentleman will have his turn l...
Patrick Hall | 467 c309 (Link to this contribution) I think that my hon. Friend is referring to contrails and that sort of thing.
Colin Challen | 467 c309 (Link to this contribution) On the inclusion of aviation in the European emissions trading scheme, does my hon. Friend agree tha...
Peter Ainsworth | 467 c307 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is making a number of extremely powerful points. May I push him a little further?...
Patrick Hall | 467 c306 (Link to this contribution) In view of the time limit, I shall confine my remarks to some of the matters raised by the Environme...
Lord Whitehead | 467 c319-22 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) who served with me on the Joint...
Speaker | 467 c322 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman's time is up.
David Howarth | 467 c318-9 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. That is the evidence that the Committees heard. It is generally accepted th...
Mark Field | 467 c324-5 (Link to this contribution) I very much accept that. One of the difficulties that a nationalised health service has, as a monopo...
Mark Field | 467 c322-4 (Link to this contribution) Naturally, the essence of any Queen's Speech is to identify challenges and attempt, through legislat...
Baroness Teather | 467 c324 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman also acknowledge that the NHS in London would fall apart were it not for imm...
Mike Weir | 467 c331-2 (Link to this contribution) Most of the oil is coming south at the moment. If we are given all the oil, we will be delighted to ...
Colin Challen | 467 c331 (Link to this contribution) If Scotland wants all the benefits of oil, will it also take responsibility for the emissions from t...
Mike Weir | 467 c329-31 (Link to this contribution) I had intended to talk exclusively about climate change and the Climate Change Bill, but I would lik...
Ann Coffey | 467 c312-6 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to take part in the debate. I particularly welcome the announcement in the Queen's Spee...
David Howarth | 467 c316 (Link to this contribution) I should like to return to the subject raised by the hon. Member for Bedford (Patrick Hall). I serve...
Lord Whitehead | 467 c316 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the mechanism of carbon budgeting will effectively drive down th...
Patrick Hall | 467 c318 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman just answered my question, but perhaps he will reflect on the fact that he is say...
David Howarth | 467 c316-8 (Link to this contribution) Yes, indeed. If we add up the carbon budgets over the entire period, we will get a volume target. Th...
Martin Horwood | 467 c318 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that some of the lower percentage risks on which the Government and Stern ...
David Howarth | 467 c318 (Link to this contribution) It is our job to set the starting point and to let the committee discuss that. There is an important...
Hazel Blears | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way first to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr. Walker).
Hazel Blears | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman knows, this is not just about vision; it is about being prepared to put in the...
Peter Ainsworth | 467 c361-5 (Link to this contribution) This seems to have been a very long debate—and when I look at the clock I realise that that it has i...
Hazel Blears | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) I can certainly reassure the hon. Gentleman that the decisions will be made entirely properly, in ac...
Hazel Blears | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. His constituency is a very attractive place in which to liv...
Hilary Benn | 467 c365-9 (Link to this contribution) With your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I shall begin by making the House aware of potentially ser...
Hugh Bayley | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend accept that in the north of England some communities have experienced fast...
Peter Ainsworth | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) Will the right hon. Lady give way?
Charles Walker | 467 c264 (Link to this contribution) Will the right hon. Lady give way?
Hazel Blears | 467 c263 (Link to this contribution) Many of the new homes that will be built will be for families; they will be for first-time buyers. B...
Hazel Blears | 467 c262 (Link to this contribution) Certainly, I think that Manchester city council provides excellent service for people in the city. T...
Philip Davies | 467 c263 (Link to this contribution) The Government try to portray the 3 million homes that they are building before 2020 as being simply...
Colin Challen | 467 c355-8 (Link to this contribution) In 2050, when a grateful nation reads the record of this historic debate, it will look in particular...
Hazel Blears | 467 c263 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. He will know that we have been trying to ensure that w...
Desmond Turner | 467 c358-60 (Link to this contribution) I make no apology for continuing to bang on about climate change. It is, after all, probably the mos...
James Paice | 467 c263-4 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Lady will understand that the issue is not just the number of houses to be built—ever...
Baroness Teather | 467 c352-5 (Link to this contribution) I shall touch on several issues that were raised by my neighbour, the hon. Member for Regent's Park ...
Clive Efford | 467 c349-52 (Link to this contribution) The Queen's Speech contains radical proposals on families, climate change, housing and local governm...
Charles Walker | 467 c341-3 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. At the outset, there was some m...
Lord Pickles | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way, and I do not want to be contentious, but the...
Karen Buck | 467 c338-41 (Link to this contribution) Before making my remarks on housing, I want to pick up one or two issues raised in the debate. First...
Hazel Blears | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps that just enables us to see what the priorities of Hammersmith and Fulham council are. We m...
Greg Hands | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) That is happening because the Supporting People grant allocated by central Government is being cut b...
Martin Horwood | 467 c335-8 (Link to this contribution) My principal concern with the Government's approach to environmental issues is not about a lack of g...
Tom Levitt | 467 c332-5 (Link to this contribution) Before I commence my speech, the House may wish to know that I chair the Community Development Found...
Hazel Blears | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman forgets to mention that a lot of that good work was built up under Labour. Will h...
Hazel Blears | 467 c260-1 (Link to this contribution) It is a privilege to open this section of the debate on the Gracious Speech. I wish to start by payi...
Greg Hands | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Secretary of State for giving way, but will she set the record straight in respect of an...
Speaker | 467 c261 (Link to this contribution) Order. That is quite a long intervention.
Lord Pickles | 467 c274 (Link to this contribution) If the right hon. Lady had had her way—and if we had had ours—we would have done more than visit her...
Patrick Hall | 467 c307-8 (Link to this contribution) The issue needs careful consideration. It will be important that there is a figure in the Bill becau...
David Kidney | 467 c326-9 (Link to this contribution) I want to link communities and local government with environment, food and rural affairs through the...
Mark Hoban | 467 c309-12 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in this debate on the Gracious Speech. I want to focu...
Hazel Blears | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) I shall not give way to the hon. Gentleman again. I shall give way to his colleague, the hon. Member...
Andrew Miller | 467 c263 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted at the progress that is being made. When the new agency is created, will my right hon...
Jamie Reed | 467 c343-6 (Link to this contribution) I shall endeavour to use the time wisely, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr. W...
Colin Challen | 467 c266 (Link to this contribution) On the point about eco-homes and better standards in tackling climate change, the Environmental Audi...
Hazel Blears | 467 c268 (Link to this contribution) It is important to have an honest debate and to come up with practical proposals to ensure that comm...
Clive Betts | 467 c301-2 (Link to this contribution) I agree. My hon. Friend's point applies to retail and housing developments. There may be a need to b...
Patrick Hall | 467 c309 (Link to this contribution) Right. Of course, the science will, hopefully, take on board all of that, because we are interested ...
Nick Hurd | 467 c346-9 (Link to this contribution) I want to offer the debate some brief observations about the Climate Change Bill, from the perspecti...
Charles Walker | 467 c265 (Link to this contribution) I thank the right hon. Lady for being so generous. Many houses are being built in and around my con...
Subjects
Aviation Construction Climate change Housing Flood control Immigration Environment protection Land use Local government Pollution Recycling Migration Standards Renewable energy Waste disposal Rural areas Rural Payments Agency
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