Alex Norris MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Mar 2025 · Levelling-up Projects · Hansard source

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  I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State enjoyed her visit. Our Ministry is clear that although we have a crucial role to play in devolution, it is a whole-Government venture. We are having frequent conversations with colleagues about how to crowd-in the important policy interventions they are making, to ensure that our communities across the country have the tools and resources they need to shape their place.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Levelling-up Projects · Hansard source

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  Despite the difficult fiscal context, at the autumn Budget we provided stability for legacy levelling-up projects—now called local growth funding—prioritising expenditure on the programmes that most directly support the five missions that this Government were elected on. The Government will set out our long-term vision for local growth at the upcoming spending review.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the exciting Eden Portland proposals and I enjoyed meeting my hon. Friend to hear further from him. It is clear that it would be great for the area’s economic regeneration, for tourism in the region and for supporting greater understanding of biodiversity loss. Colleagues at DCMS are working closely with the proposers and with officials in my Department, but I would be happy to involve myself in whatever way is useful.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Fire Safety: Local Authority Planning · Hansard source

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  I fondly remember—at least, I think I do —our consideration of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. [ Interruption. ] The hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) remembers it, too. At every sitting of the Public Bill Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) said that York had never produced a plan, so I was overjoyed when I heard from the leader of York council this morning that it had had that success. Of course, making these things real involves really good planners, which is why we are pleased to have made a further £46 million available for planning capacity.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Fire Safety: Local Authority Planning · Hansard source

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  They will be all those things; I believe that is a shared goal. For clarity, we are taking forward the recommendations. As we stated last week, we do not think that the testing houses ought to be under the purview of a single construction regulator, as that would mean that the regulator would essentially mark its own homework if there was a problem. I know Opposition Members have a problem with this, and I am more than happy to speak about it in greater detail. We are looking very closely at European standards, as the hon. Gentleman will have seen in the “Construction Products Reform” Green Paper. Alignment with those European standards is probably a desirable goal, but that is subject to the ongoing consultation. We are very clear that the current regime does not cover enough construction products. There is not enough transparency or accountability when things go wrong. Our desire, as has been expressed from the Dispatch Box, is for a very high standards regime, and I look forward to working with Opposition Members in service of that shared goal.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Fire Safety: Local Authority Planning · Hansard source

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  Building regulations set fire safety standards for new developments, and building regulations and planning are, of course, a devolved matter. In England, developers submitting planning applications for high-rise residential developments are required to submit, along with their planning application, a fire statement, setting out fire safety considerations, and the local planning authority must also consult the Health and Safety Executive.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Fire Safety: Local Authority Planning · Hansard source

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  I am not sure that I can comment on the application the hon. Gentleman is talking about, as it will, of course, have been subject to the planning process as established in law. However, I can say that one of the changes that the Deputy Prime Minister made early on in our time in government was to ensure that approved document B can be updated quickly and in real time, so that if issues are highlighted, the regulations can keep up and buildings can be kept safe.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Penistone Line · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising these important points. I totally agree with him that improved connectivity is essential for places to thrive, and that is a point that Mayor Tracy Brabin makes to me frequently. I can happily say that the case for West Yorkshire is heard loud and clear. I would of course be happy to hold such a meeting.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Penistone Line · Hansard source

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  Our Department is in regular dialogue with the Department for Transport and with regional mayors on how best to support local transport infrastructure investment, including the Penistone line project. With our decision to finally grasp the nettle and support a mass transit system, this Government are now providing unprecedented levels of investment for the region.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  We all want to see our town centres thrive, and it is one of those things that constituents raise with all of us. That is why we are delighted that at the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that the long-term plan will be retained and reformed. The plan is working with 75 towns across the UK, providing each with £20 million to support their regeneration. Of course, this comes on top of the innovation of high-street rental auctions, and the forthcoming community right to buy.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  It absolutely does. My hon. Friend has been dogged, almost to the point of—well, I will not say to what point—on securing money for Rochdale. I know this money will make a real difference. Despite this being yet another thing that was not funded by the previous Government, we are delighted to have been able to secure this funding, which I know will have a great impact. I look forward to visiting.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s invitation, which, of course, I will take up. The experience that he talks about is not uncommon in the rest of the country; certainly, over the last 14 years, there has been very little progress. I know that Merton council, for example, is investing some £300,000 in brightening and refreshing Morden town centre, but I know the council, like the hon. Gentleman, wants to see more done. I will be happy to sit down to talk to him about that.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Building Safety Documentation · Hansard source

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  If the building is in one of the Government-backed schemes, such as the cladding safety scheme, the fire risk assessment will have been quality assured by the Government, which will provide assurance. If it is covered by the developer contract, it will have been audited by the Department, so that ought to give cover as well. If neither of those things is the case, I am more than happy to talk to the hon. Lady about how to give residents surety so that they can evidence to lenders that their building is safe.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Building Safety Documentation · Hansard source

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  The external wall system 1 form is a tool developed by mortgage lenders to inform valuation, and is not a fire safety certificate. We are working very closely with the industry to encourage them to take a proportional approach to forms issued by Tri Fire. Lenders who have signed the industry planning statement should accept alternative evidence as part of mortgage applications, but if an individual has concerns about the fire safety of their building, they should contact the person responsible for it.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Building Safety Documentation · Hansard source

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  I stress that the EWS1 form is an industry form rather than a fire safety one. If those buildings are in a Government scheme, any fire risk assessment will have been quality assured. If they are in the developer contract, those schemes have been audited as well, which should give cover. I would not want to speak about individual cases at the Dispatch Box. We believe that the quality of those assessments must be sacrosanct and they must be done in good faith. That is why, as part of our response to the Grenfell inquiry, we have made significant commitments on standards in this area.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I share the hon. Lady’s intent. We know that, whether it is in publicly available online forums or on the dark web, there are people who will use all corners of the internet to promote their views and to promote hateful ideologies. As part of our counter-extremism sprint and the strategy that will follow from that, we are looking very carefully at this and at the tools that we need to tackle it.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  The Home Secretary will have the chance to talk about the counter-extremism strategy in due course, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that we have been looking at the early signs from that review, and these were talked about in December by my hon. Friend the Security Minister. To some degree these were about the places in which hate festers rather than about legislative changes.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I do not know what in particular the right hon. Gentleman is referring to— [ Interruption. ] Well, he did not have to use coded language if he meant a specific incident. There is rightly a distinction between what the Government of the day do and what the police do. We are not here to direct the police. In line with what I have said, however, all public bodies need to be careful about the language they use because it has real-world consequences.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  It is important that we are careful with our language and with conflations. One thing I know about, after the many years of building trust in my community, is that it takes a long time to build that trust but it can be lost very quickly if we are thoughtless in the language that we use.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  There was real sadness when the previous Government moved away from interfaith as a model. My hon. Friend the Faith Minister has been clear about how important he thinks it is, and that is why promoting interfaith work has been a core part of the work he has done so far.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  This Government have taken on the independent review of Prevent, and 33 of its 34 recommendations have been implemented. We are engaged in the counter-extremism sprint, and our counter-extremism strategy will flow from it. The hon. Lady will have a chance to see that.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the Chair of the Select Committee’s question. Language is important, and it is reasonable and right that our constituents expect us to be robust with those who choose to challenge and undermine democracy and the basic principles that guide our society, but also that we do not use our very privileged platform to give succour to hateful ideas and prejudices. Indeed, one thing that we know about the changing nature of terror is that individuals are taking cues from organisations that stop short of the threshold for inflaming terrorist-type behaviours. They are using that as encouragement, so we all have a responsibility to be measured in our response. With regard to the engagement with the Home Office, we want to make sure that anything that comes out of the cross-Government sprint and into the strategy can be bought into and owned by communities across the country, so there will be engagement.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the position has not moved. I have previously stated in answer to written questions that we are not meeting the Muslim Council of Britain. [Hon. Members: “Say it again!”] I am not sure I can say it any more clearly than at the Dispatch Box in the Chamber of the House of Commons. The position has not changed from the previous Government.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I have always felt that there were two types of politician. There are those who seek to move things forward politically by bringing people together, and those who seek to exploit division. It is up to individual hon. and right hon. Members to decide which is their personal approach. When there is divisive—or bordering on hateful—language in political parties, we would expect them to resolve that in their normal ways. With regard to leadership in this country, we are certainly the luckiest people in the country. We get to come here every day and tackle these issues head-on in the interests of our communities and our country. Almost exclusively, Members use that platform for good. We have important distinctions and differences, and that is great in a democracy, but we want to bring the country together and move it forward together. That is certainly the approach that I will be using.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition · Hansard source

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  I agree with a lot of what the hon. Lady’s says about earlier interventions and tackling isolation at its root. As she says, local authorities are really important partners in that endeavour. That is why we will ensure that whatever comes out of our communities and recovery steering group leans into the partnership with local authorities and local law enforcement, where possible, to ensure that the right resources and support are in place. The hon. Lady asks about engagement and ensuring that we have a contribution from those affected across our faith communities. My noble Friend from the other place, Lord Khan, the Faith Minister, has met representatives of all faiths and will continue to do so. The Government will keep having that important dialogue with different faith groups to ensure that the ideas that we bring forward will be effective and are rooted in real life, but we will also promote inter-faith work, which she mentioned. I know from my own community that when we have had challenges, the best thing we have had to lean on to tackle hate, wherever it might emerge, is the inter-faith relationship.