argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Housing
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): I wonder whether my right hon. Friend has ever had the experience of having builders in and not having given them an end date. What happens? The building work goes on and on and on. Is it not time that we told the builders, "The end date is 31 October. You finish the job—no ifs, no buts, no compromise"?
European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Luke Patrick Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend will have greater knowledge of this than many in the House, so will he confirm that the cross-party talks were not actually able to agree a compromise? Furthermore, the Government did go out of their way to make assurances on workers’ rights, environmental standards and domestic legislation that the Labour party demanded and subsequently rowed back on when it came to passing a vote, agreeing a deal and moving this country and this House forward.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Civil Rights
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): No, no, wait a minute. The hon. Gentleman has made a fool of himself already. He should stay put; I am doing him a favour. [Interruption.] I am really doing him a favour—he may not understand it If they do not vote for an election tonight—if they refuse to vote to have that election—they will be running away from their democratic responsibility. I say to Members such as the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry)—one time my right hon. Friend—
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Civil Rights
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): No, honestly, the hon. Gentleman really does not want to do himself any disfavours The right hon. Lady talks about a people’s vote. The problem with a people’s vote, if she wants to put it to a referendum, as the new leader of the Liberal party does, is that she would never accept the result—
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Civil Rights
George Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I am going to conclude, Mr Speaker If the right hon. Lady wants a people’s vote, I say to her that the people’s vote is in front of us tonight in this debate. It is called a general election. I have never known an Opposition not want to take over. This is a bizarre affair. They are running away from trying to defeat a Government. Let us have that election, let us make that decision, and if the right hon. Gentleman who leads the Labour party right now genuinely believes in democracy, let him put up or shut up.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The hon. Lady says she does not understand parliamentary procedure, but on the whole she does not shriek from a sedentary position. The hon. Gentleman has been in the House for 14 years. If he wishes to contribute, he can seek to catch my eye. He should not chunter from a sedentary position in evident disregard for the procedures of the House.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Maria Colette Caulfield (Conservative, Centre-right): Is not the truth that the hon. Lady and many of her colleagues do not want a general election because they are as scared as we are of the Leader of the Opposition becoming Prime Minister?
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I think every Member in this House respects the passion and bravery of the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), but will she at least recognise the irony that she is calling for the revitalisation of democracy at the same time as speaking against renewing the representative mandate of this House? I would invite the House to consider—[Interruption.] I am going to be very brief. The irony also extends to those crying for a people’s vote who will vote against the people having a vote about the future of this House The British public have watched this House of Commons decline into almost a zombie Parliament—one that is incapable of deciding anything and is still dominated by remain thinking and remain attitudes even though the British people clearly voted leave in the referendum. Yesterday, I spoke about the problem of us having created conflicting representative and direct mandates. The legitimacy of this House was unquestionably as a House of representatives, but we qualified that as we introduced the concept of referendums into our constitution. The representative mandate is unalterably qualified by the fact that we had a referendum and said that we would implement the result However, this House has failed to implement that result. We therefore must ask ourselves: how is that going to be resolved? It will not be resolved by continuing to put off decisions, yet the Bill, which so many of the remain-supporting Members of this House are so pleased with, does no more than invite the European Union to put off its decisions. What is going to be gained by putting off decisions again? What kind of respect will this House gain by putting off decisions at the same time as avoiding a general election, which would make us accountable to our electors?
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Mixed Topics
Anne Margaret Main (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend share my puzzlement? Opposition Members are looking at a Government who have lost their majority, cannot get their business through and are offering the chance of a general election. An election will be about more than just Brexit. There are other things that matter to my constituents and they will still want to renew the mandate and give a Government a mandate to deliver on those things. A Government without the ability to deliver need to have a general election. I would have thought that any Opposition Member would have accepted that.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not going to give way What will happen after that? A definition of madness is to repeat the same thing again and again expecting a different outcome. The longer this goes on, the more that Members of Parliament will fear holding a general election because, out there, faith in the established political parties—
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): Order. The hon. Gentleman is referring to parts of a Member’s career. I do not think he is making any allegation, and I sincerely hope that he is not—[Interruption.] If you will let me finish, I hope he is not making any allegation about the conduct of a Member in this Chamber.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): He is not, and therefore he is not out of order—[Interruption.] He is not out of order. I know the rules, and I know how to interpret them. I do not require any guidance from anybody on that matter. I am very clear about that. I say to him that there is much to be said for moderation in the use of parliamentary language. As somebody who likes the hon. Gentleman, I urge him to be a little more courteous.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I note that the Leader of the Opposition is once again not in his place, in what I think is a slightly symbolic way. Forty-eight hours ago, he was leading the chants of "Stop the coup and let the people vote," and now he is saying, "Stop the election and stop the people from voting." There is only one solution: he has become, to my knowledge, the first Leader of the Opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation to an election. I can only speculate—[Interruption.] I can only speculate as to the reasons behind his hesitation. The obvious conclusion is, I am afraid, that he does not think he will win. I urge his colleagues to reflect on the unsustainability of this position overnight and in the course of the next few days.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): No, I am dealing with one point at a time. One has to proceed in an orderly manner in these matters, I say to the Prime Minister. I am dealing with one point of order, and when I have dealt with it, I shall happily attend to another. It is evident from the smile on the face of the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) that he is very pleased with the point he has made.
Early Parliamentary General Election — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Other
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I was just going to elaborate by saying that this is the first time in history that the Opposition have voted to show confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): More housing was delivered across England last year than in all but one of the past 31 years. We have examined the recommendations of my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) on the build-out review, and the Government responded in full at the spring statement earlier this year with a commitment to speed up the planning system and introduce new guidance to encourage diversification.
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Scott Leslie Mann (Conservative, Centre-right): May I give the Secretary of State some feedback from architects and planners in Cornwall? The community infrastructure levy is having a detrimental impact due to not only the onerous nature of the number of forms that need to be filled out, but the fact that sites that could be deliverable are not coming forward because of the money. Will he look at that to see whether he can bring forward more sites, because we all want more houses in Cornwall?
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for the input from Cornwall which, as he knows, is where my family hail from, so I take particular interest in it. Small developers can benefit from exemptions for self-build homes and developments of less than 100 square metres. The CIL contains flexibility and some exemptions, and we introduced guidance in July, but I will certainly listen to my hon. Friend and, indeed, other hon. Members about the community infrastructure levy.
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I do, in short. Modular building is an essential part of our work to get speedier build out, to ensure diversification of materials, and to get skills for people. It has been good to see how housing associations and the private sector are starting to embrace it. There is more to do, but I recognise my hon. Friend’s point.
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman will know that housing is devolved in Northern Ireland, but I recognise the absence of an Executive and therefore the need to be able to respond to such local issues. However, our policy in relation to England is clear: we want to see diversification and we want to see that local authorities are able to meet the needs of their communities.
House Building — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman about ensuring that smaller builders are able to play their part, which has implications for localities and for the supply chain. Indeed, funds are available for smaller builders, but it is a challenge to see how we embody that. Councils are also able to use their new flexibilities to borrow to build, and we will continue to champion that, because the diversification that he highlights is critical.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased that the Competition and Markets Authority is investigating mis-selling and onerous leasehold terms and looking at whether such terms are deemed to be unfair, and we will consider further action when it reports. That work supports a strong package of reforms to promote fairness and transparency for leaseholders.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his comments but, despite those efforts, buyers of brand-new properties in Kidderminster in my constituency still believe that they have been misled in terms of leasehold contracts and contracts relating to communal services charges on new build estates. Given that we agree that we need to increase house building significantly across the country, does the Secretary of State accept that the apparent mis-selling must be properly investigated and brought to an end once and for all before the scandal affects millions upon millions of future homebuyers?
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely do. Unfair practices in the leasehold market have no place in modern housing, and neither do, for example, excessive ground rents that exploit consumers who get nothing in return. I called on the Competition and Markets Authority to look into this issue, and I am pleased it has now responded, also reflecting the calls from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee—I note that the Chair of the Committee, the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), is in his place this afternoon It is right that we get to the bottom of this, that we challenge it and that we respond to these unfair practices firmly and effectively.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise the hon. Lady’s call, which is why we have taken a number of steps and will be bringing forward legislation to ban new leases on houses and to reduce future ground rents to zero monetary value. The Select Committee obviously highlighted the issue of existing leases as well, and we therefore now have a pledge in place and a number of people are coming forward to provide that direct response. I keep this issue under continual review as to what further steps are needed to change the situation for the future, as well as providing support for those already in this situation.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Mixed Topics
Peter James Bottomley (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend and his team have, over the past year or so, made more progress than was made in the previous 20 years, which is greatly to be welcomed. May I ask that he continue showing the open-mindedness, flexibility and drive that are necessary to undo some of the past misdeeds, whether by declaring clauses to be unfair, and therefore unenforceable, or by finding simple, low-cost ways of righting wrongs that have been around for far too long?
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. We have firmly focused on this issue of leasehold, and I know the close attention he pays to the steps that have been taken. Obviously, the Competition and Markets Authority will be looking at this issue of unfairness. In relation to the Select Committee’s response, there are legal complexities with existing contracts, but I assure him that we will continue to focus on this to provide that effective response.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Edmund Francis Hughes (Conservative, Centre-right): In my excellent recent private Member’s Bill, I suggested that ground rent for leasehold properties should be set at the lower of £250 or 0.1% of the property’s value. Does the Secretary of State agree with that suggestion?
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes) for his private Member’s Bill setting out the steps that are needed to bring the leasehold market into an appropriate space. He will have heard what I said about bringing ground rents down to zero. We have given that commitment, and the right thing is that we move forward with our proposed legislation. I am sure that, with his ingenuity, he will be able to scrutinise it and, no doubt, come up with further proposals to ensure that legislation is effective.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): No, I do not accept that. I direct the right hon. Gentleman to the action that has been taken and the fall that has been seen: the proportion of new build leasehold houses has fallen from 11% in quarter 4 of 2017 to 2% in quarter 4 of 2018, which was the lowest quarter so far for leasehold houses in the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. The right hon. Gentleman issues a challenge on the existing Help to Buy scheme; he will have noted that I have asked Homes England to look into how we can renegotiate some of those contracts, because I was clear that there should be no new Government funding for schemes that promote leasehold, and that remains a firm commitment. Equally, we are taking action on the scheme now to confront some of the abuses that there are.
Leasehold Properties: Mis-selling — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
James Peter Brokenshire (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly, the right hon. Gentleman has not been looking at the practical steps we have taken and, indeed, the performance that we have seen. Perhaps that is because of the turmoil in his own party—there has been plenty on the Opposition Benches. I direct the House to the steps that have been taken, the commitments that have been made and the effect that all that is now having. We are championing the cause of leaseholders and confronting some of the really unfair practices. We are seeing the effect that that is having as a result of the steps we have taken, rather than the hyperbole from the Opposition and the continuing turmoil that we see among them.
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, we commenced a formal process of intervention in 15 local authorities to ensure that they fulfil their obligations. I have spent the last 12 months touring the country, exhorting local authorities not only to get a local plan in place, but to do so on a long-term basis so that people can see the kind of decadal-scale planning that is required to get to 300,000 homes a year. If local authorities remain sluggish in producing a plan, as the hon. Gentleman claims his local authority has been—I think that its plan is due for submission in August 2020, which does seem a little tardy—then action may be required, beyond just a stiffly-worded letter.
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Priti Sushil Patel (Conservative, Centre-right): When district councils do not have a local plan and a five-year land supply in place, it is villages and parishes that face the consequences of planning development. What protections will the Minister and his Department put in place for communities trying to establish neighbourhood plans, and will he reflect on his Department’s recent decision to grant planning permission to two sites in Hatfield Peverel that go against the neighbourhood plan?
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend, with her usual skill, puts up a stout defence on behalf of her constituents. She is quite right that protections that would otherwise exist for neighbourhood plans recede where a local plan is not in place, particularly when there is not a five-year land supply. I would point out that having a five-year land supply is not a necessary condition of having a local plan. It is possible to have one without the other, and I hope that her local authority will seek to do so. We will shortly be issuing planning guidance on plan making, wherein I hope we will include measures to strengthen neighbourhood plans, either in the absence of a local plan or where they are not co-terminus.
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I have been in this job for just over 12 months, and I have developed a sense that in some way people have an expectation that I should be planning the country from my desk in Whitehall. Fundamentally, the decisions about the local plan are for the local democratically elected representatives, and they should be examined by a planning inspector to make sure that they are compliant with national planning regimes. In the end, the fundamental arbiter of the local plan in York—whether there should be one and what it should it contain—is a decision for the people of York. I would urge them to vote for a council that will produce the kind of the plan to which the hon. Lady aspires.
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): In relation to local plans and housing, Isle of Wight Council wants to set up a company to build council housing—I strongly support this—but says that it cannot access the necessary funds because it does not have a housing revenue account. Does the Minister agree with that statement, and, if so, what will he do to help my council to build council housing for Islanders?
Local Authorities: Adopted Local Plans — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my hon. Friend, who works very closely with his local council in its aspiration to build more council homes. This is exactly the sort of action that we want to see from local authorities, which were, frankly, induced out of council house building by the previous Labour Government. I am aware that quite a lot of councils in this situation do not have a housing revenue account, despite our lifting the cap and enabling them to access the funding that they need. I would be more than happy to arrange for his councillors or council officials to meet my officials to determine how they could establish just such an account.
Home Ownership — House of Commons, 2019-07-22
Topic: Housing
Christopher Laurie Malthouse (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are committed to supporting people into home ownership. The most recent English housing survey saw the first rise in home ownership for 35 to 44-year-olds in over a decade. Government schemes have supported over 553,000 households to purchase a home since 2011.