Speeches by Milne.

“We are facing a national affordability crisis, but handing out planning permissions like confetti did not bring down prices under the last Government and there is zero reason to expect it will do any better this time. Does the Minister accept that relying on private developers to bring down prices can never work, becau…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“Good morning. From April next year new claimants for universal credit health benefit will see their award roughly cut in half from today’s claimants. The rationale is to incentivise pathways into work. Have you modelled what percentage of this cohort you expect to be able to find jobs, particularly from a regional poin…”

“I appreciate that, but we heard evidence that I would think cast doubt on whether that will be effective.”

“Is there not a danger that as a result of that Bill, the surpluses will be used in other ways to reward the company, so that opportunity will go? I understand that you want to see the legislation have impact but this is a point where we take the opportunity now or we lose it.”

“As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for rural business and the rural powerhouse, all too often I hear devastating stories of suicide in the farming community. Campaigns such as the Farm Safety Foundation’s Mind Your Head play an important role in encouraging frank and honest conversations. We know that 95% of…”

“I agree, but the employers, who are the guilty parties in this, have shown their hand over many years. I am not seeing anything happening unless they are forced to take action. I cannot see why they will behave in a different way.”

“Yes, we got that right at the start of this meeting. We have not had time to talk about it.”

“I have a question about pre-’97 pensions and lack of indexing. A lot of people looked at the Pension Schemes Bill that has been passing through Parliament as a possible solution to this long-standing problem. Are they wrong? Do you think that the distribution of surplus payments is a potential solution? I was on the Bi…”

“Okay. This research was provided to the PHSO prior to its report to Parliament, so there is a little bit of confusion as to why it has only just come to light.”

“Thank you for that. Labour’s manifesto promised to review universal credit “so it makes work pay and tackles poverty”. In March the Minister for Social Security and Disability told the House that despite there being no terms of reference the review would take place throughout 2025, so presumably that has been ongoing. …”

“I think lots of people are drawing assumptions, not surprisingly, so thank you for that clarification. Is there anything in particular in the research that has—”

“Will there be clarity about how this process will carry on from here?”

“In the Green Paper, the Government said they would publish a White Paper in the autumn on the abolition of the work capability assessment. Reports now seem to suggest that that has been cancelled. The WCA is a fundamental and crucial part of the whole system, so is that correct? Why the change and how are we going to m…”

“Have you modelled the impact on those who do not get jobs? Obviously, they are getting quite a lot less income.”

“I understand the rationale completely. That is fine. Nevertheless, have you modelled what percentage of the cohort you think will actually find jobs? This is a similar scenario to the PIP reforms. In actual fact, only a few per cent would ever likely have got jobs. What do you think is the case?”

“In relation to the intervention from the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), the fundamental problem is that although successive Governments have said, “We favour brownfield,” there is not sufficient push behind it. In my constituency, we are legally driven to accept every application on its own merits. Applic…”

“In my constituency of Horsham, the peaceful rural village of Cowfold has experienced a bewildering surge of applications for green energy projects. Locals could be forgiven for thinking that the industrial revolution has arrived a couple of hundred years late. Why is that happening? I think the point the hon. Member is…”

“In the interest of time, I will concentrate on PIP. The evidence of the past 10 years tells us that the PIP system copes very poorly with fluctuating neurological conditions. As a member of the Work and Pensions Committee, I constantly hear of people being denied PIP even when diagnosed with some of the most severe con…”

“There has been great anxiety about the possible negative impacts on the environment of this legislation. Lords amendment 40 seeks to restore site specific protections for most cases where they do not involve wider issues, such as nutrient neutrality, but it has been opposed by the Government, as we have heard. Can we t…”