Speeches by Powell.

“On the list that you mentioned, are there things that you would have liked to have seen included in that plan that would have given you more confidence?”

“Yesterday, it was reported that a former constituent of Kensington and Bayswater, Roman Abramovich, owes up to £1 billion in UK tax—potentially a bigger case than even Bernie Ecclestone. Does my right hon. Friend share the country’s anger at people such as Roman Abramovich using complex corporate structures and British…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), and the hon. Members for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) and for North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns), for securing this debate. As Members have mentioned, we met thousands of voters face to face in the general election campaign, and by far the mos…”

“I will make a bit of progress. We need to ensure that the voice of the people matters. That is the foundation of my belief in electoral reform: if done right, with appropriate models for different levels of government, it can help to rebuild faith in our democratic system so that we do not end up being more polarised, …”

“We have record levels of investment, record rises in wages and the fastest-growing economy in Europe. The upgrades from the International Monetary Fund and the OECD speak for themselves. The issue that we are focusing on today, fixing our democratic plumbing, matters too. The Prime Minister said that restoring trust in…”

“Most of you mentioned fiscal powers in your introductions. Obviously the White Paper, outside of integrated settlements, does not devolve any additional fiscal powers. I am curious as to what you would have liked to see. What do you think would be the most appropriate fiscal powers to be devolved?”

“I am Member of Parliament for Kensington and Bayswater.”

“I am MP for Kensington and Bayswater.”

“Why do you think the Treasury or central Government have not?”

“If you look at where we are on an international standard, obviously we all know it is 5% or 6% of tax take. Do you think there should be a target for changing that? Could there be a metric for increasing that?”

“A quick follow-up question for Louise: London had the Greater London Authority Act 1999. One concern some of us have is that London risks being left behind because trailblazer deals are overtaking it, and we have this situation with the boroughs and the Mayor. Do you think there is a risk of London being left behind in…”

“Open end-to-end procurement data could be a goldmine for mission-driven government, and as the Competition and Markets Authority warned recently, it could make bid rigging harder. Can the Minister explain how we will grasp the opportunity of open end-to-end procurement data?”

“This is the final question from me. I obviously support the collaborative approach, but there may be times when some sort of sanction or oversight is needed from the Department. You have some powers to do that around B&B, for example. Can you give us any latest analysis of the Department’s approach to using that? Have …”

“Obviously buybacks can happen more quickly than newbuilds.”

“Could I just ask a quick follow-up question on this? Investing in prevention totally makes sense, but we know, historically, some councils have spent up to 80% of their rough sleeping money on temporary accommodation, just because of the current need. I believe in this new grant you have indicated 49% needs to be spent…”

“One that we took evidence on, and you referenced it, is evidence of category 1 hazards for children in current temporary accommodation. To push a bit more on this relationship with local authorities, do you think that they are doing enough at the moment to monitor the quality and safety of their temporary accommodation…”

“In terms of that collaborative approach, some councils are keen to do more, either buybacks or acquisitions, to have their own temporary accommodation that they can keep to a higher standard. We hope that the decent homes standard will extend to private rented in time. Is that something the Department is looking at sup…”

“The National Audit Office said that the Department does not routinely collect data on standards. Do you think that should change?”

“Thanks, Minister. To move on to standards in temporary accommodation, you referenced in your introduction that horrendous statistic of 160,000 children in temporary accommodation. It is one in 21 children in London. I had a constituent who had been in temporary accommodation for 14 years come to me before Christmas, so…”

“Obviously buybacks can happen more quickly than newbuilds.”