Mr Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the Metropolitan Police intend to extend its policy on not arresting cannabis users in Lambeth to other parts of London; (2) what estimate he has made of the effect of police policy in Lambeth on cannabis possession on the Government's targets on drug reduction; (3) what indications he has received from chief constables outside...
Health: Impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on health and social care.
Witnesses: ...Chief Executive, Local Government Association Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive, Care England Ray James, President, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services Lord Smith, Leader, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, and Sir Howard Bernstein, Head of Paid Service, Greater Manchester Combined Authority David Slack, Managing Director, Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group Neil...
Mr Alfred Barnes: ...of a bath is one of the conditions imposed before a subsidy can be obtained. Therefore, we have a recognition by this House that the installation of a bath in a house is now a matter of public policy and conforms with the general desire to improve the standard of health of the community. If Parliament, on the one hand, is imposing an obligation upon both builders and local authorities,...
Mr Bill Michie: ...and Washington (Mr. Boyes), my colleague from the other side of Tyne and Wear, will the Minister reconsider the proposals for local government reorganisation in both the GLC and the provincial metropolitan counties? Will he bear in mind the test case in South Yorkshire, where the issue was democracy in the metropolitan counties, even though the election was for Sheffield district council,...
Mr Albert Booth: Does the Minister acknowledge that the continuous pursuit of a cheap fares policy by the South Yorkshire metropolitan authority has been accompanied by a higher level of investment in bus services than has occurred in authorities where high fares policies have been pursued? How will the Minister and his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State increase investment in public transport by...
Yvette Cooper: The Government's policy on altering Green Belt boundaries remains as set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 2 (PPG2), Green Belts. PPG2 explains that once the general extent of a Green Belt has been approved, it should be altered only in exceptional circumstances. If such an alteration is proposed, the Secretary of State will wish to be satisfied that all opportunities for development...
Mr Albert Booth: .... The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Mr. Bevan) said things in Committee which hardly accord with the judgment that he reached in his speech today. He said: The Bill would enlarge the policy-making and planning role of non-elected passenger transport executives and reduce that of the metropolitan councils".—[Official Report, Standing Committee A, 7 December 1982; c. 198.] More...
Malcolm Wicks: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Rotherham metropolitan borough council was published today and copies of the report have been placed in the Library. The BFI undertook a first inspection of Rotherham metropolitan borough council in October 1999, and the report was extremely critical of the...
Mr Leslie Huckfield: ...taken a long-standing interest in transport matters generally. He knows, however, that his party introduced the 1972 Local Government Act which, in Section 203, imposed a statutory duty to develop policies which will promote the provision of a co-ordinated and efficient system of public passenger transport to meet the needs of the county. That duty was placed upon the new metropolitan...
Norman Baker: ...from the Home Office, Department for International Development and Department for Education attended the Roundtable on 18 July 2013. Also in attendance was the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Metropolitan Police Service Commander for Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on female genital mutilation. Policy Officials...
Mr Bernard Conlan: ...be read in conjunction with it because they are consequential. Although there are three Amendments there is only one theme, which is the provision for simultaneous election of councillors in the metropolitan districts. The Secretary of State, in an attempt to improve the Bill, is proposing to give to non-metropolitan district councils the option to have simultaneous elections. But why...
Peter Whittle: ...streets in black uniforms and stab vests. As you will be aware, the Public Order Act 1936 prohibits the wearing of paramilitary and political uniforms in this country. I am assuming that the senior Metropolitan Police officer in charge that day was also aware of this law. However, I feel that once again the police are sending out the signal that laws will be enforced differently for...
Desmond Swayne: Why are local authorities such as New Forest district council not being allowed to spend their housing budget on desperately needed new houses, but are required by the Minister's imposed policy to deploy that budget on repairs, despite the fact that their stock is in good condition? That policy might be appropriate to northern metropolitan boroughs with a history of neglect, but it is not in...
Mr John Wheeler: .... It is difficult to make those comparisons, for a number of reasons. I should like to follow his speech and consider the clear-up rate. Except for very serious crimes, the clear-up rate for the Metropolitan police is well below that of the other metropolitan forces in England. The difficulty of using statistics is that careful analysis needs to be made. For example, the number of arrests...
Mr Dave Nellist: ..., we have seen, although not necessarily heard from, those Tory Members whose directorships and consultancies are with the firms that would like to take the pickings from the dismemberment of the metropolitan county councils and the GLC, in the form of such services as those dealing with private waste disposal and highway construction and some aspects of transport. Those Tory Members also...
Mr William Waldegrave: ...and direct accountability a form of consultation that is designed for local authorities would make confused and unclear what is, at the moment, clear. All ratepayers must know the effect of the Metropolitan police precept. It is provided for in the rate demands rules, which require that the poundages of each precepting authority are shown on the rate demand. We shall be introducing new...
Philip Hollobone: .... Subsequent to that ruling, the Department for Education issued guidelines permitting schools and colleges to insist that they be able to see pupils’ faces at all times, and this week Birmingham Metropolitan college did just that. Will my right hon. Friend urge the Department for Education to reissue its guidance so that the public can see that Birmingham Metropolitan college has acted...
Lord Paddick: My Lords, two weeks ago, Policy Exchange criticised the Metropolitan Police for its “unusual and unjustified strategy” of using stop and search in the face of the spike in knife crime. Compared with other metropolitan forces, such as Merseyside, it had the highest rate of stop and search and the lowest rate for apprehending drug dealers. Crucially, the Met also had the second lowest rate...
David Cairns: All new policy and guidance affecting the Malone conservation area is subject to public consultation. This has included interim supplementary guidance published in August 2006 and specific policies for the area published as part of the draft Belfast metropolitan area plan. In addition, all planning applications within the area are subject to public consultation through press advertisements...
Alban Maginness: I welcome the Minister's statement, and I wish his objectives well. From talking to investors coming to Northern Ireland, one thing that strikes me is the need for policy certainty, and I hope that the statement can bring about a situation in which policy certainty can be created. There is a gap at present, and it relates to the Belfast metropolitan area plan (BMAP). Can the Minister...
