Speeches by Ali.

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) for opening this debate and congratulate the Backbench Business Committee and its key members on granting this debate. I am extremely grateful to hon. Members for their insights and excellent contributions, all of which are incredibly valuable as we make…”

“It is crucial that we focus on ensuring that our democracy and its integrity are protected from interference and that we have public confidence, and that is our focus. Instead of going into specific individual cases, my focus is on ensuring that we build trust in our system and protect our democracy against interferenc…”

“The defending democracy taskforce, chaired by the Home Secretary alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, is very much looking at those issues.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the question. We have inherited a massive challenge, and we are working at pace to tackle these issues, so that people can live safely and securely in their home and do not face such high costs.”

“I refer the hon. Member to my earlier answer to that precise question. The Renters’ Rights Bill will protect tenants from having costs passed on to them.”

“We recognise that it is important to get the balance right. The Renters’ Rights Bill will put in place new regulations to protect tenants, and as I have said, there are schemes to support landlords who need support. Investment in a property is an important part of ownership, and improvements can lead to increases in pr…”

“We are taking urgent action to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and have announced £60 million to tackle winter pressures. We will update the House on progress in repealing the Vagrancy Act in due course.”

“This Government are committed to tackling fuel poverty and delivering warmer, cheaper homes for tenants. We are currently consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector and continuing to support landlords to meet the new standards through consultation.”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Raising standards in the private rented sector could lift up to 550,000 people out of fuel poverty. There are a number of schemes to support landlords to improve their properties, and they can look at their eligibility through gov.uk. In particular, there are schemes such as…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale) on securing this important debate. I believe it is her first Westminster Hall debate, so it is great to be responding to it. I know that she is a passionate advocate for her local…”

“Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will listen. The Minister tried to respond to his comments but he was not interested in the answers, so he will sit down and listen to my closing remarks. I want to respond to hon. Members across the House who have taken these issues very seriously. This Government have already invested £3.7 …”

“It is my pleasure to close this debate. I thank Members from all parts of the House for their important contributions. I also pay tribute to the dedicated public servants working in local government across the country for everything they do to deliver for their communities by providing essential local services, protect…”

“Perhaps the shadow Minister did not hear the opening remarks of my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, or my remarks, about what the Government have already invested in local government—billions. Does he want me to go over it again? There is not much time, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I s…”

“An exemplar contribution. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about ensuring that local authorities receive expertise and support, which is why the local audit office is so important. I know my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution will work with him and his Committee to ensure we get …”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Once again, I thank hon. Members for their valuable contributions, even if we do not always agree. The point is that we can all agree that there is much work that needs to be done.”

“The hon. Member took the opportunity to make a speech. I am sure he will get his clicks on Facebook and Twitter, so he does not need to continue in that vein.”

“I am concluding my speech. The shadow Minister has had his chance.”

“No. We are very serious about working with colleagues both in Parliament and in local areas to tackle these very serious challenges, which local authorities need us to address after 14 years of under-investment.”

“The hon. Member had his chance to make his point. He should have taken the opportunity to hear the response from the Minister. On the points about rural funding raised by the shadow Minister and other Members, this Government are absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. As I said, p…”

“The shadow Minister has had his chance to make his points. It is my turn to sum up, and I want to address the points that have been made.”