Results 1-20 of 292 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Neil Turner

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Topical Questions (27 Oct 2009) has video

Neil Turner: There is widespread agreement that the housing revenue account system is not fit for purpose, so I give the review that is under way a warm welcome. The Treasury has proposed taking an extra £7 billion dowry from councils, but does my right hon. Friend agree that that would prevent them from implementing the Decent Homes standard, and that it could be seen as a tax on council house tenants?

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Local Authority Leaseholders (7 Jul 2009) has video

Neil Turner: May I tell the Housing Minister how warmly welcomed his statement was last week on the housing subsidy account? May I also urge him to ensure that any changes he makes will enable excellent four-star councils such as Wigan to build on the 80 council houses it will be placing in the Scholes area of Wigan, so that there are more of them in future?

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (1 Jul 2009) has video

Neil Turner: This Labour Government have made a lot of progress in tackling disadvantaged communities, such as Pemberton, Scholes and Beech Hill in my constituency, through the neighbourhood renewal fund. However, local authorities and primary care trusts are hampered from building on that success because they do not get the money that the Government formula tells them they are entitled to. Will my right...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Topical Questions (21 Apr 2009) has video

Neil Turner: If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Topical Questions (21 Apr 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I understand that the ring-fencing of the Supporting People programme will be abolished shortly—which I welcome—and the money will be included in the base funding for local authorities. I urge my right hon. Friend to take this opportunity to ensure that that money goes to local authorities on the basis of measured need, rather than historical spending patterns.

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: Will the hon. Gentleman not recognise that although old people become ill and need care more, in areas such as mine, where there is severe deprivation, people reach old age earlier than they do in more affluent areas? A 70-year-old in an area with more deprivation may need the same level of care as an 80-year-old in a more affluent area.

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: I think that this is the first time that I have had the pleasure and honour of serving under your chairmanship, Mr. Jones. It is a great pleasure to be under your tutelage and guidance for this one and a half hour debate that I have managed to secure on primary care trust health funding. It would be remiss if we did not first put into context just where we are at present and how far we have...

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: It is probably true that the Secretary of State inherited the decision. Nevertheless, what I was about to say was that having inherited the need to look at the formula, the Secretary of State told ACRA that it needed to ensure that the formula more accurately represented the health inequalities that exist in areas and that the funding and weighting of various elements within the formula more...

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: I accept that. My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I could say the same about my constituency, which, broadly speaking, is very deprived. We have super-output areas in the most deprived 3 per cent. of areas, but equally, we have super-output areas that are above average for quality of life. They are within easy walking distance of one another, so I recognise the issue. However, it...

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: The hon. Gentleman pinches a later part of my speech, and although I appreciate that he cannot stay in the Chamber for long, if he will excuse me, I would rather not answer him now. I will do so later and he can read it in Hansard. ACRA was asked to put greater emphasis on areas with health needs and to ensure that the resources went to tackling them. We should make it clear that ACRA is an...

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: I accept that inner cities, particularly London and many of our other major cities, have major problems. They have transient populations; people do not register for whatever reason and the Office for National Statistics has problems ensuring accuracy in the number of people it counts. I recognise all that and hope that ACRA, when it compiles its report and tries to ensure that PCTs get the...

Health Inequalities — [Mr. Martyn Jones in the Chair] (18 Mar 2009)

Neil Turner: Again, the hon. Gentleman is pinching my lines. His point is valid and important. The problem with underfunding, when it lasts for so long, is that it is not just £25 million this year, but £25 million last year and £20 million in the previous two years, and way beyond the previous 10 years, with perhaps even 20, 30, 40 or 50 years of underfunding in terms of facilities and...

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I was chair of the direct works committee and the best value committee.

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: Is what the hon. Gentleman is saying about the waters of the Thames possibly due to the fact that it has been filtered through 15 sets of kidneys?

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I welcome the settlement—in the circumstances, it is an extremely good settlement for local government. It is as well to put on record the fact that this three-year settlement and the stability it provides are very important to local government. We will look back on it as a major reform by the Government that will continue to work in the future. Personally, I think that it should be a...

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: There will always be such changes, and it is right to strike a balance between what local government has to pay—through the local council tax payer who will receive the services—and what the Government give in grant. The point that you did not address is that when the Conservative Government were in power, my local authority received less cash, not just below-inflation increases....

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I would have some sympathy with that point if, at the same time, you had not been cutting all our mines and other industry and making the economy of Wigan, in a particularly short period of time, hugely difficult for us. It is only because we had an extremely good local authority, led by Councillor Peter Smith—now Lord Smith—that we could help the local economy following the...

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I think that I have been fairly generous in giving way on that point, so I shall carry on. It is important that we also welcome the floors and ceilings on funding. My local authority suffers from floors and ceilings, as it does not get as much funding as it would if we did not have floors and ceilings. Opposition Members talk about the amount of money that they are getting and about...

Bill Presented: Local Government Finance (4 Feb 2009) has video

Neil Turner: I am not saying that it could not be improved. Of course, local government finance has never been perfect. We have always known that. The point that I was making was that you were saying that you—