Speeches by Cocking.

“As he is a Hampshire MP, I will give way to the shadow Minister.”

“The last Labour Government, which was elected in 1997, established devolution and moved powers away from Westminster under the premise of a referendum result. However, this Labour Government are choosing not to undertake such a referendum. Which does the hon. Gentleman support: having a referendum or not having a refer…”

“My hon. Friend is a passionate advocate for his constituents. We had a long discussion about that issue in Committee. I completely agree that “Isle of Wight” should be in the name of that combined mayoral authority. The Isle of Wight has a good local identity. It is important, when we create these new strategic authori…”

“I do not think that the Bill does that. It enables Ministers to force councils to reorganise. It keeps power in Whitehall. It does not devolve powers to councils. I have mentioned a number of times in questions to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that my council is crying out for more powers ov…”

“One more time, and then I will make progress.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I signed his amendment, as that issue is important. It goes back to what I said at the beginning of this debate: the Bill is not ready to go any further. The Government should have thought about this. The amendment is logical and seeks to achieve what the Government want to…”

“Face-to-face banking on our high streets is obviously important in accessing both cash and financial services. I want to come to you first, Henry. Nationwide had a notorious advert which said that you were not closing branches but you did close branches in Cheshunt, which is part of my constituency. What effect have th…”

“How does that help people to access face-to-face mortgage services in areas where you do not have branches?”

“That does not fill me with much confidence. It is difficult if you are an older person and you want to downsize. I have a question for the whole panel; has face-to-face banking had an effect on people’s ability to access mortgages across the whole spectrum?”

“I am the Conservative Member of Parliament for Broxbourne and I used to live in a shared ownership property.”

“Do you think that not having banks on the high street creates that effect? Obviously, you are saying that lots of lenders do not do it and mortgage lenders do it themselves, but if I were a first-time buyer and I could see banks on the high street, I could walk in, ask some questions and get pointed in the right direct…”

“But if you do not know where to find them, to be able to walk into a high street bank and ask some questions about the products that bank offers will surely affect people’s knowledge and understanding of the mortgage products on offer, even if it is just in that bank.”

“I really do thank the Home Secretary for her statement. This is a tiny step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. To truly show that the Home Secretary is listening to the British people, does she agree with me that if you enter this country illegally, you should never be allowed to stay?”

“As a former deputy police and crime commissioner, I know the hard work that police and crime commissioners do, and I know that the Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, does all he can to keep Hertfordshire residents safe. The Government’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill b…”

“I should declare that I have a data centre in my constituency under construction. It went through the normal planning route. Will the Minister confirm to the Committee that if someone wants a data centre to go through the nationally significant infrastructure project regime, the local planning authority and local peopl…”

“Why did you reduce the targets in London?”

“Secretary of State, you said at the start of the meeting that you have been in meetings around the local housing allowance. Have you been in any meetings with any ministerial colleagues or civil servants around the Budget on any potential changes to council tax?”

“That is shocking.”

“I just want to drill down a bit further into that, if I can. You are the Department for Housing and you are seriously telling us that you have not done any calculations on how many social homes are needed each year, let alone a target. You are the Housing Department and you are seriously telling this Committee that you…”

“You have made your decision. Then you are going to consult.”