Speeches by Woodcock.

“I am grateful to the Minister for outlining the steps the Government are taking to make up for the years of underfunding of council highways by the Opposition parties. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson tried to defend Oxfordshire county council; will the Minister address what that council has done? I get complaints fro…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“What I am trying to understand is that it seems like we are getting to a situation where, as long as the leaseholders pay the bill for sorting this out, you guys are fairly happy. But if the shoe is on the other foot, frankly, you are not interested and you will continue to say that whatever is proposed is not good eno…”

“To return to a point made last week, I think it was Lord Best who was very keen on the regulation of managing agents as well. But we heard very clearly from representatives of leaseholders that their concern with regulation is that all the costs will be loaded on to them. That is why they don’t want regulation—they wan…”

“I am grateful to the Minister for his statement. With over 5,000 properties off the grid in the Banbury constituency, I welcome this announcement. Can I add my voice to the others we have heard from around the Chamber in asking that this Government to do what the previous Government failed to do: finally tackle the lac…”

“Lord Best, last week we heard from campaigners that they did not want regulation of managing agents. They were concerned that that would just pass the costs on to them. Do you have any comment on that? That seems to me a fairly important piece of testimony.”

“I am Sean Woodcock, Member of Parliament for Banbury.”

“He’s an ex-pollster, so I wouldn’t argue with him.”

“Is that a yes, then—you do not support any aspects of the Bill?”

“Okay, one; I will make it a big, key one. My colleague, Mr Cooper, asked twice about what aspects of the Bill RFA members support. You were very quick to label three things you oppose. Should I take from the fact that you did not answer that RFA members do not support any aspects of the Bill?”

“I have two quick questions.”

“I note there was laughter behind you when you said “competence” as well.”

“If it is not regulating management agents, what change would you like to see, ultimately?”

“So not regulating management agents?”

“Adoption aside, are there any other changes to the Bill that would improve it regarding private or estate management?”

“Has it actually happened, though, or is it just a couple of extreme cases?”

“Halima, you have given a taste of your view on the draft Bill with regard to estate charges. I am interpreting from your response that you see adoption of estates as ultimately what is needed in order to end a lot of this injustice. The Bill does remove some of the possession threats that homeowners face. Have you, or …”

“I am Sean Woodcock, the Labour MP for Banbury.”

“I am grateful to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement. I wonder if he could clarify the actions that the Government will take should the investigation show that further questions need answering.”

“The Government’s child poverty strategy aims to lift over 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the impact of the abolition of the two-child benefit cap for families in Northern Ireland?”