Voting Fraud 11th December
5. Fiona Bruce (Congleton)
(Con): What steps the Electoral Commission is taking to reduce electoral
fraud. [906592]
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon): The
Electoral Commission has targeted 17 areas where there is a high risk of
allegations of electoral fraud to ensure that returning officers and police
forces have developed appropriate responses to address specific local risks for
the May 2015 elections. The Electoral Commission has also worked with the
College of Policing to publish detailed guidance for police forces on preventing
and detecting electoral fraud. The Electoral Commission has worked with
political parties to agree a code of conduct for campaigners and is developing a
simple guide for voters about how to protect their vote and how to report
electoral fraud.
Parking Enforcement 15th December
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Will the
Secretary of State join me and many Congleton residents in objecting to
proposals to introduce parking charges at Congleton War Memorial hospital for
the first time? That plan is likely to increase, rather than decrease, local
parking congestion, and rather than benefiting patients and their families it
will in all likelihood benefit the car park charging company through aggressive
fines.
Mr Pickles: I have a War Memorial hospital in my
own constituency. My hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) has been
vocal in pressing local health authorities on this practice, which particularly
affects people who are visiting patients who are in hospital for a long stay. It
does not seem to be the most sensible way of raising funds.
Topical Questions 16th December
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Will the
Minister join me in commending Timpson shops that provide work for hundreds of
former offenders, including many who are still serving their sentences? What can
be done to encourage other employers to follow suit?
Andrew Selous: My hon. Friend is right to mention
that issue, and I think that around 10% of Timpson’s work force are
ex-offenders. Other companies such as Greggs do similarly good work, and I have
been particularly impressed by the Halfords training academy at Onley prison.
There is good work, and we need more companies to carry on in the same way.
National Planning Policy Framework 18th December
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): May I
congratulate the Committee on an excellent report? Suspension of the local plan
for Cheshire East council, covering my constituency, is causing untold concern
in areas such as Congleton, Sandbach and Alsager, despite a huge of volume of
work by Cheshire East council. I therefore thank the Committee for highlighting
many points, including the need for clarification of what sustainable
development actually means, the need to facilitate partial adoption, and the
inclusion of housing consents in planning numbers, which would go a long way to
help my council in finalising its plan.
In the
meantime, while the Minister considers those points, will the Chair of the
Committee join me in asking Ministers to speed up the process for the
formulation
18 Dec 2014 : Column 1613
of neighbourhood plans? No fewer than 14 such plans are now in train in the
Cheshire East area, but these are small communities. Does the hon. Gentleman
agree that there should be a clear, quick process, free of bureaucracy and with
the appropriate resources and support, so that the plans can finalised in early
course?
Mr Betts: There is widespread support for the
concept of neighbourhood plans, but there is some concern that poorer
communities may not be able to adopt the process as easily as more affluent
ones. That goes back to the issue of the relative status of neighbourhood and
local plans if, for example, 14 neighbourhood plans are being developed but
there is no local plan.
We think
that the definition of sustainable development in the NPPF is a good one—it
draws on Brundtland and on the five principles—and we do not want to change it.
The problem is that the definition goes on to say that sustainable development
is defined by everything in the NPPF, and we thought that that rather circular
argument was unnecessary.
