Speeches by Stephenson.

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention—I forget which positions people have had over the years. I absolutely agree. I will discuss new towns later in my speech; it is important that the Government provide clarity, and clarity soon, on where those new towns will be built. In my constituency too, people want the in…”

“Will the Minister confirm whether new towns will contribute to current house building targets or be in addition to them?”

“I thank my right hon. Friend—”

“Again, I must declare my interest as a Central Bedfordshire councillor. I learned recently of the sums that are held at Central Beds from section 106 contributions. The council is very good at collecting the sums but not necessarily at spending them, particularly in the right places and on the right things. Residents w…”

“I absolutely agree. There is a lot of support for brownfield-first development, but also for gently densifying our towns and cities so that we have houses where people want to live within the existing infrastructure. The Government have been elected with a clear mandate to build, build, build, and I accept that. But I …”

“Will the Minister take this opportunity to talk about building on flood plains? He may be coming on to this matter, but it is close to the hearts of my constituents and, particularly, constituents in North Bedfordshire. It is important that we do not build houses in areas that are going to flood.”

“3. What steps she is taking through the criminal justice system to help tackle hyper-prolific offending.”

“In my constituency there is a particular problem of hyper-prolific shoplifting. There are no credible deterrents and it is a scourge on our local communities and shop owners. Can the Justice Secretary rule out any possibility of allowing career criminals to avoid prison, even for short sentences?”

“Trump’s tariffs will make everyone poorer and are extremely disappointing, so is it noteworthy that Reform Members have not bothered to turn up to share in our disappointment? Our automative sector is already announcing closures and layoffs, including Stellantis in Luton, which has provided great jobs for my constituen…”

“Minister, we have heard concerns throughout this inquiry that, in practice, co-ordination between Departments across Government in governing the marine environment is not working effectively. A piece of written evidence to this Committee received from RenewableUK says that, “the offshore wind industry is concerned abou…”

“That is a good point to end on.”

“You mentioned the marine delivery route map, which leads me on to my final question. Will the Government consider adopting it as a strategic tool for marine planning?”

“In addition to the Marine Recovery Fund—and it would be good to write to the Committee and describe that from your perspective and how great that is—how does your Department co-ordinate with The Crown Estate and the Marine Management Organisation to ensure effective marine planning?”

“Minister, we have heard concerns throughout this inquiry that, in practice, co-ordination between Departments across Government in governing the marine environment is not working effectively. A piece of written evidence to this Committee received from RenewableUK says that, “the offshore wind industry is concerned abou…”

“Baroness Chapman needs to go.”

“Your commitment is clear. You have said you are committed quite a few times there. So far, 21 countries have ratified the treaty, but quickly—and I will make this the last question—is it embarrassing that we have not got this over the line when you are in front of all these countries?”

“In terms of the resourcing that has been allocated to getting this over the line, to clarify, is it not a resourcing issue but purely a timetabling issue?”

“I understand that. You talked about getting legal ducks in a row, which makes perfect sense. Are there particular issues in implementing the legislation or is it purely a timetabling matter?”

“Yes.”

“You will not be ambitious enough to commit to June.”