Speeches by Khan.

“I completely agree with that, Minister. I just want to get a bit of clarity. When you say that we need to rebuild that trust, is there anything else, alongside the multi-year settlements, that you think could help us to enable councils to do that?”

“Naushabah Khan, Labour MP for Gillingham and Rainham.”

“Thank you, Minister; it has been really helpful to hear some of your thoughts on that. As someone who has served as a councillor for over 10 years and also as a cabinet member, I would be interested to hear some of your thoughts on this, too. One of the things that I found during that period was that balancing the book…”

“I thank the Minister for his statement on this deeply concerning matter. Given that he has already highlighted the friendship that this country enjoys with both Pakistan and India, will he provide reassurances that it is in that manner that ongoing conversations with both countries will be conducted? Will he detail whi…”

“I wanted to ask a follow-up question on that. I am really interested to hear you reference Chatham. Being the neighbouring constituency to me, and being in the same unitary authority that I was a councillor in previously, I am really aware of how that project worked. It was really engaging and they did a lot of work ar…”

“I picked up on this with the previous panel, but I want to get this panel’s thoughts on planning fees. How prescriptive is the Bill’s ringfencing of planning fees?”

“My question is whether there should be more mechanisms in place to ensure that there is more democratic accountability of new development corporations, but also whether these development corporations should be given additional powers to lead on building houses alongside the private sector. I would be interested to hear…”

“A lot of what I was going to pick up on has been referred to in those answers, but I can see that a tension exists between what Victoria was saying and what Andrew has just said. We have a bit of a challenge in planning departments, where they feel like they have been under-resourced—they have been under‑resourc…”

“Following on from those comments, my questions are a little bit about planning fees. Do you think that the recent increase in planning fees has allowed for an improved service from planning departments?”

“I am Naushabah Khan, Labour MP for Gillingham and Rainham.”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that given that the SNP has failed to run vital services in Scotland, we should not give it control of a border?”

“I recently visited the hygiene bank in Medway in my constituency. Its volunteers provide essential hygiene products to people who need them, restoring their dignity and confidence. Given that 4.2 million adults in the UK live in hygiene poverty, will the Leader of the House consider a debate on how we tackle this issue…”

“That is very helpful. Just to pick up on that, you mentioned the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the powers extending CPO. Does the current iteration of those powers go far enough? Is there any potential to have more improvements to support land assembly?”

“I want to move on to land assembly. Maurice, this question is for you first. What are the potential benefits of a more widespread land assembly by public bodies?”

“I am Naushabah Khan, MP for Gillingham and Rainham.”

“I see. In terms of the public interest point, I understand from what you have said that you think CPO should be allowable under the public interest banner. Could Government go further in terms of guidance on what constitutes public interest? Would that be more helpful?”

“I just wanted to ask a question in terms of some of the reflections we have had on section 106. Perhaps slightly further down the process, once the agreements have been made, we are aware that there are billions, at the minute, nationally of unspent section 106 contributions sitting there. I just wondered if the panel …”

“Can I just have a quick follow-up on that point? In terms of changing behaviours and the reforms to CPO that the current Planning and Infrastructure Bill is proposing, you are saying that there is a potential to change behaviour, but it needs to be done at scale.”

“Does anyone else on the panel have any comments on any element of compulsory purchase or land assembly?”

“I thank my hon. Friend and Chair of the Select Committee, of which I am a member, for presenting the report. We heard compelling evidence during the inquiry. Does she agree that the Government should look carefully at the evidence we heard about the impact of out-of-borough placements on children, families and host bor…”