Speeches by Cooper.

“By making accessibility one of GBR’s core priorities, this Labour Government are finally putting the improvement of accessibility at the heart of the rail network. How will stations such as Northwich railway station be able to access accessibility improvement funding to deliver the accessible station that my constituen…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) on securing this debate. I want to speak about the importance of housing-led regeneration. Done well, it transforms lives, rebuilds communities, unlocks economic growth and creates plac…”

“The North Sea Transition Authority deals with many private sector companies around oil and gas drilling. I agree that it is a public quango, but surely the right hon. Member agrees that it does not have responsibility for what Shell or BP do in the North sea any more than it has responsibility for what Peak Cluster may…”

“The important thing for my residents is this: does this project work and is it safe? Those are the two key points. I note that my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) is in his place today. He has been challenging these plans on behalf of his community, as have I and my hon. Friend the Member for Co…”

“I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents of Mid Cheshire pertaining to unadopted estates in my constituency. Around 4,700 households—equivalent to more than 12% of all properties across Northwich, Middlewich and Winsford—are on new build estates where basic infrastructure such as roads, drains and sewers rem…”

“Those are future adaptations the Government will have to pay for.”

“I am the Member of Parliament for Mid Cheshire.”

“If not, would the Planning Inspectorate reject its local plan?”

“On the private rented sector database, I will declare up front that I spent about 20 years designing systems like this. But I no longer do so; I do this now. For the avoidance of doubt, will the system be hosted and owned by MHCLG and local authorities will have access to it? Is that how you are operating it?”

“By having something that is not measured in that way, or not having any kind of minimum standard at all, is there a risk that it is therefore not seen as a priority by local authorities when they are producing their local plans, and we end up with an undersupply of wheelchair user properties as a result?”

“That’s fine. In terms of what you could put in that letter to inform me, I wanted to understand how the database will operate. Is it a national system that landlords will be able to access through a common portal and register all their properties on? Will local authorities have access?”

“As part of that would you expect the local authority—or indeed have you as a Department done some analysis—to look at age demographics and which areas are likely to have a greater requirement for more accessible homes in future? Would you be expecting local authorities to be citing that kind of evidence when they produ…”

“In the north-east and east midlands, 4% are accessible, whereas in London it is 23%. Is it your expectation that local areas will look at how many properties they currently have that are compliant with M4(2) and set a standard accordingly?”

“As I say, M4(3) covers wheelchair user dwellings; what is the rationale for not proposing a national minimum standard for that?”

“I am interested in whether local authorities will be able to see only the properties in their area or properties owned by a landlord in adjacent areas. I am thinking of London in particular, where you have quite a small geography close together. If I were in Camden, could I see a private landlord in Islington? I might …”

“My questions are all going to be about the accessibility of new build homes, which for the benefit of the audience at home and those who are watching are covered by part M of the building regulations, under which category 1 is visitable dwellings, category 2 is accessible and adaptable dwellings and category 3 is wheel…”

“Would you expect the Planning Inspectorate to be looking for the local authority to demonstrate that it has made that assessment of how many homes it has that are accessible?”

“rose—”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. As we have heard, the ceramics industry is a vital part of Britain’s manufacturing heritage and economic future. It supports thousands of skilled jobs, sustains local communities, strengthens domestic supply chains and contributes significantly to our economy…”

“Trust in politics is at an all-time low, and part of the reason is that our society is littered with examples of structural unfairness, injustice, and ordinary people being ever so slightly fleeced. The housing market of recent years is a strong case in point, with multiplying ground rents, abuse of the forfeiture syst…”