Speeches by Curtis.

“The only way out of the economic doom loop that the previous Government got us into is by growing the British economy again. If the British economy had grown over the past 10 years as quickly as the OECD national average, there would be £40 billion more sitting in the Exchequer without having to touch spending or taxes…”

“Many of my constituents came to the UK from Hong Kong under the BNO visa scheme in search of safety, freedom and opportunity. They have shared with me their concerns about how the uncertainty involved in the changes in the visa system might affect their future here. Can the Minister provide reassurance that those on BN…”

“11. Whether she plans to extend the qualifying settlement period for people with British national overseas visas.”

“What percentage of homes are built to that standard?”

“The taskforce recommended that all new homes should adhere to the M4(2) standard of accessibility. Millie, why do you think this is so important to meet the needs of an ageing population?”

“Do we know the rough extra cost to developers of building a new home that meets that standard?”

“I am always very nervous about putting regulations in place that cover all new properties. If you have too many restrictions on the development of everything, often—as we have seen—it can dramatically decrease house building numbers overall. Is there a middle ground where we can increase that number, which I agree is d…”

“I am MP for Milton Keynes North.”

“Why do you think the market is not doing this already? If the point is that we need to regulate, why is it that developers are not already seeing this as an important thing to be doing? Why is it that people buying homes do not see it as important?”

“1. What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.”

“Every French city with a population of more than 150,000 has a mass rapid transport system, yet over 30 UK cities or towns of that size still lack it. Research from Centre for Cities shows that poor connectivity holds back growth and productivity by limiting mobility. A key reason why we have so few is cost, because bu…”

“Q14. Milton Keynes has one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the country; one in three people now work in tech jobs at firms such as Red Bull Racing and the AI company Aiimi. Eleanor, a student in my constituency, is in the Gallery today. Can the Deputy Prime Minister let her and this House know how the Government…”

“Thank you, Chair, for giving me the opportunity to present this application. We want to have a debate to scrutinise the performance of the Building Safety Regulator amid growing concern from both the commercial and residential development industries about the significant delays in regulatory approvals. These delays are…”

“Yes, MHCLG.”

“I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for calling this important debate. Let me start with what I think should be seen as positive news and welcomed across the Chamber: the once-in-a-generation increase in funding for social housing. We in the Select Committee have heard about some of the dire consequences of the h…”

“Milton Keynes is proud to be a growing city, but too often under the previous Government new homes did not come with the infrastructure required for the new communities. Will the Minister please set out how the new strategy will help to support the infrastructure, in particular GP surgeries and hospitals, that will be …”

“Do we know what percentage of the sector overall uses KSI? You say it is a third of yours—is it a third overall?”

“If any other business was responsible for managing a gate and did not fix it for eight years, then turned around to residents and said, “We want a 123% increase in your fees to manage gates that have not worked for eight years,” that company would be out of business within months. And yet, because of the way this entir…”

“I expect most people on this panel will have first bought properties in their constituency, and what you are describing is quite some distance from the experience of us and our residents. Redhouse Park is in my constituency. As of May this year, you emailed telling me that you had not signed off the accounts from 2022:…”

“Would you accept that, if that was true, that would be indication of a problem?”