Speeches by Reader.

“I am just going to jump in. Robbie, you mentioned local plans there. I want to focus specifically on the layering of plans here in planning. We have local government reorganisation, which will happen in the next few years, which I understand means that local plans will have to be redone within the new unitary council b…”

“I am just trying to understand. Do you have any projects that will be generating in your plan?”

“Eleanor, did you say your project is not currently generating? When did you start working on the project? It says here that you started working with communities in 2020. Is that the project you are talking about?”

“A quick question because I am over time. The Reform Party now runs my council. It has banned the use of net zero. It has banned council focus on stuff like clean energy. Is that a significant risk to the Government’s plan if we see more councils go to a political party that does not believe in community energy?”

“Will you be generating at some point, or is it just a planning project?”

“I am conscious of the time for my slot. Do any of you have any recommendation as to how that skills gap could be closed, particularly given there is a definite target from the Government on clean power by 2030, so we need it now. Emily, do you have any recommendations on how we can close that skills gap?”

“Eleanor, you are part of a national team with the Carbon Co-op doing this sort of thing. What do you think are the biggest challenges that people face in terms of the planning process to deliver community energy projects?”

“Do you do anything like that at a local level in North London?”

“We have heard that there are many groups looking to do community energy and it is a big part of Clean Power 2030. Does that network of knowledge sharing already exist? Given that we are only a few years away from needing to meet the clean power target, why do you think that people are still scrambling around to underst…”

“Tanuja, we have heard evidence that community energy projects certainly do give benefits back to the community, but equally we have heard that commercial developments can do the same. Is it not a level playing field already, or do you think Emily is right that it is not fair for community energy projects within the pla…”

“I agree that those services are critical—we are seeing that at first hand in Northamptonshire; when placements and employment opportunities collapse, when local provision disappears, and when funding dries up, people lose trust in the system. The reality is that, across the country, the support network available to aut…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) for securing this debate, and to her constituents for joining us today in Westminster Hall. I am proud to be a member of the Labour party—it is the party for workers; it recognises the dignit…”

“I am fortunate to get thorough updates from my police, fire and crime commissioner, Danielle Stone. In the latest update, she told me that she sees real improvements in the Probation Service, but Northampton still has a 40% staff vacancy rate. What is the Department doing to support recruitment and retention of the ski…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, while we do need that reform, we should recognise the brilliant organisations in our communities that are working so hard to support people—particularly, in Northampton, SEND Mummas, West Northants SEND Action Group and SENDS 4 Dad?”

“The Royal & Derngate in Northampton has been named the UK’s most welcoming theatre. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending Jo Gordon, the chief executive; Jesse Jones, our artistic director; and all the team at the Royal & Derngate?”

“As the Committee will remember, I had just covered Ireland. I will now take Committee members across the world to Australia, where a ban on upward-only rent reviews was relatively successfully deployed, as the Minister rightly said. As with Ireland, it is a very different model to what the Government are proposing. In …”

“It is a pleasure to speak about this issue. I thank the Minister, who has been gracious in giving me a lot of time to discuss upward-only rent reviews. I hope to use a couple of minutes to clarify a couple of points in the Minister’s statement that I do not think completely reflect the evidence that we have heard and, …”

“May I tell the Committee a story? There is good merit in making sure that councillors are trained, but they can be trained and still not listen. A Reform councillor in Northamptonshire chose to join a training session, forgot to turn off his camera and got into the bath naked. If we are to mandate training, we are goin…”

“The Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for North West Essex, said at the Conservative party conference that she wanted to cut regulation on building, but she was silent on the Government’s consultation on speeding up building. Is this a change of policy? Are the Conservatives now supporting the Government …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Chris Curtis) for doing tireless work to co-ordinate it on behalf of us both. I thank his team as well. I want to start by echo…”