Speeches by Cocking.

“Do you?”

“Lastly, when councils get capital money, how agile are they? I have been a councillor. Councils are given money to deliver capital projects. We have loads of meetings about stuff and spades go in the ground a couple of years later. If councils became more agile when they get that capital money, particularly around home…”

“This is an open question to you all. We have had the Budget. The Government have said that the local housing rates will not increase. How will that impact on local government budgets? How many councils are getting to the point, a bit like Hastings, where it is beginning to place too much pressure on their budgets and t…”

“Grace, lots of London councils decide to move people in temporary accommodation outside of London, which puts pressure on the home counties. Why do London boroughs choose to do that?”

“What is your annual budget, just to give us a flavour?”

“Thank you. I have been previously a board member on the DCN and I am a Hertfordshire county councillor but I do not have responsibility for homelessness and housing. I will come to you first, Chris. In Hastings, you spend 50% of your budget on temporary accommodation. How sustainable is that and what are you doing as a…”

“I am pleased you have mentioned prevention because we are 40 minutes in and no one has spoken about prevention in response to any of our questions yet, which is the biggest part. If we prevent people being homeless, that is the best thing we can do. No one has touched on that.”

“What representations have you made to the council that does not separate families and singles to ask it to do it? If you have, why has a council said it cannot do that?”

“You have to encourage people not to work to be able to get a property?”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Hertfordshire currently receives the third lowest SEND funding in the country, but since 2015 the number of children in the county with educational, health and care plans has grown by a staggering 223%. Does the Minister agree that funding sho…”

“I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. There is a problem with a highway authority issuing permits. There is also a problem when utility companies use emergency legislation, where they do not even have to notify the highway authority of the works taking place. Residents can wake up, get in their car to go to wor…”

“I thank the Minister for her reply and thank all the hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. I also thank the hundreds of my constituents who replied to my survey online to tell me about their experiences. I will make a few final points. We really need to tackle the emergency works. As I said, they turn up unan…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of roadworks on journey times. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I declare an interest as a Hertfordshire county councillor. I am pleased to have secured this debate on a very important topic for my constituents. When I describe the co…”

“I thank hon. Members for making their maiden speeches. As I have said before, I am a geographer, so it is a real pleasure to hear about our great United Kingdom and the different constituencies that we all represent. Entrepreneurs in the towns and villages I represent across Broxbourne are working hard to take risks da…”

“I absolutely agree. If we do not create the next generation of entrepreneurs in this country through the education system, which the Government should be focusing on, rather than placing burdens on them—we have yet to hear the Government’s new Budget, which could increase taxes and put more burdens on small businesses—…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Caroline. The Turnford school was a secondary school in decline in my constituency of Broxbourne: academic standards were poor, and the school had never received a satisfactory rating from Ofsted. But thanks to a unique partnership with Haileybury, an independent …”

“I should have declared earlier that I am a Hertfordshire county councillor; I apologise for not doing so. My hon. Friend is making valid points. Does he agree that it should not matter where a person is born or lives in the United Kingdom, as councils should receive the same extra funding to provide for children with a…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. It has been worrying to hear about many of the challenges faced by constituents across the east of England, particularly in my constituency of Broxbourne. Almost every week since my election, I have seen a constituent and the family of a constituent strugglin…”

“In my first speech in this Chamber, I assured the House than my nan would keep me on my toes. Even before the cut to the winter fuel payment had hit the news headlines, she was on the phone to me to sort it out. My nan is one of 15,000 pensioners in Broxbourne who will end up losing £300 a year—a vital sum of money tha…”

“I declare an interest as a Hertfordshire county councillor. It is an honour to speak under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. Hertfordshire receives the third-lowest high needs funding in the country. I know that the hon. Gentleman mentioned the need to increase that funding. Will he join with us cross-party to lobby the new G…”