Speeches by Cocking.

“Q4. The town of Cheshunt in my constituency has no banks or building societies, and we have been told that we are not eligible for a banking hub. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that every town that wants a banking hub should be eligible for one, so that my residents have access to their hard-earned cash?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) for securing this important debate. While I agree with him that much more needs to be done to encourage appren…”

“Goff’s Oak, in my constituency of Broxbourne, has seen a lot of development. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that GP surgeries are delivered before hundreds of new homes are built?”

“Some 16,600 pensioners in Broxbourne will lose their winter fuel payment. How is the Minister helping those who cannot do online applications for pension credit to make an application? Will she commit to continuing to write to all those who will lose their winter fuel payment until they sign up for pension credit?”

“You must have some convening power. We have a strong individual who is elected—”

“When someone ends up homeless, how easy is it for them to access support? How long does it take them to get the support they need? I think it is fair to say that there is support out there, though probably not enough. What are the main barriers for the individual to access that?”

“I am Lewis Cocking, the Conservative Member for Broxbourne.”

“I am sorry. What do you mean by “gatekeeping”?”

“I am a councillor on an upper-tier authority, Hertfordshire county council. We do not have responsibility for homelessness. Adam, you just said that you want to build more homes. What do you think about the Secretary of State’s view that the housing target in London is going to be reduced by 20%? We are going to build …”

“Adam and Paul, you have both mentioned the health service and trying to get them on board more. You represent big metropolitan areas, both with elected mayors. If they cannot get into the health service, how does the rest of local government do it? They are quite powerful and have lots of levers at their disposal. How …”

“Do you think London should build less?”

“Just to follow up on that, how long on average would someone spend sleeping homeless before they get access to any help? I get that you might not know this.”

“8. What steps her Department is taking to increase the support available in jobcentres in Broxbourne constituency.”

“The Budget has made it even harder for small businesses in my Broxbourne constituency to create jobs. What can the Minister do to make sure that jobcentres connect with local businesses to help those who are looking for work to find sustainable employment?”

“I am pleased you have mentioned prevention because we are 40 minutes in and no one has spoken about prevention in response to any of our questions yet, which is the biggest part. If we prevent people being homeless, that is the best thing we can do. No one has touched on that.”

“Do all local authorities have a choice about out-of-area placements? If the centre of London chooses to move out to the outskirts of London, that pushes up the prices there, which then prices the outer London boroughs out. They then move out to the shires and so the people in the shires do not have a choice because the…”

“What representations have you made to the council that does not separate families and singles to ask it to do it? If you have, why has a council said it cannot do that?”

“You have to encourage people not to work to be able to get a property?”

“Grace, lots of London councils decide to move people in temporary accommodation outside of London, which puts pressure on the home counties. Why do London boroughs choose to do that?”

“This is an open question to you all. We have had the Budget. The Government have said that the local housing rates will not increase. How will that impact on local government budgets? How many councils are getting to the point, a bit like Hastings, where it is beginning to place too much pressure on their budgets and t…”