🗣️ Speeches and Debates
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. The hon. Lady makes a point about the importance of neighbourhood plans, and I have had parish councils contact me about this. As the Minister just said, it is about priorities. If the Liberal Democrats are serious about the Government funding local councils to continue with neighbourhood plans, should they not also put forward...
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Briefly, I want to put on the record how much I value the protection of sporting assets. I have already mentioned Chipping Norton in my constituency, and how the football club there lost its land to a rather unscrupulous developer the best part of a decade ago and ever since has not been able to play in the town itself; it has to play almost 10 miles away. The protections are very close to...
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The hon. Gentleman rightly praises the role of local newspapers. I have some brilliant ones in my constituency, including one that goes out in Chipping Norton and hence is called Chippy News. It is produced by volunteers and does a lot of the things that the hon. Gentleman talked about. However, he mentioned the diminished circulation of newspapers. If he really wants better consultation and...
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Having been a district council opposition leader for 10 years, I can say with some real clarity that the agenda was not always dominated by the controlling group; in fact, a lot of the motions put forward by the group I led were accepted by the controlling group. It is all about the quality of the councillors and the opposition—it goes back to what my hon. Friend the Member for North West...
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Like the hon. Lady and councillors in my area, I too get casework, and one of the frustrations that people have in areas where there are two levels of local government—district and town councils—is that they sometimes go to one council and are told, “Sorry, we can’t do it. You need to go to the other one.” The priority for residents is surely getting things fixed and sorted. Does...
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Will the hon. Member give way?
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It is great to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I refer the hon. Member to a point I made to his colleague in Committee a couple of weeks ago. Ten years ago, the district councils of Northamptonshire were dismantled by his party and forcibly put into unitary authorities. Where was his umbrage then? If district councils are so good, why did his Government not reform them, give them...
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They were going bankrupt.
More of Sean Woodcock's speeches and debates
✍️ Written Questions and Answers
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase military support to Ukraine.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Chiltern Railways to help prevent overcrowding.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure the accessibility of Government digital services in Banbury.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support veterans affected by homelessness.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will list every case in which Secretaries of State have granted consent under Section 128(1) of the 1972 Local Government Act for disposal of building for (a) less than best consideration and (b) where the undervalue exceeds £2,000,000 in the last ten years.
More of Sean Woodcock's written questions
