Housing Reform

Bob Russell Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

The only answer for the right hon. Lady’s constituents is for us to build more homes and to get a more flexible, dynamic and mobile housing market in this country. She is absolutely right, and I have every sympathy with her constituents. Throughout London, the average deposit is something like £60,000—it is completely unattainable. However, I hope she will join me and—I think—her Front-Bench colleagues in welcoming the indemnity scheme, which means that from now on, deposits will come down to £15,000 from £60,000.

[Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Bob the builder welcomes this statement. It is a statement of fact that the previous Labour Government in 13 years built fewer council houses than the Thatcher Government achieved in 10 years. The Minister has said that the Government can help by making more public land available, but will he specifically consider sites such as Severalls hospital in Colchester, which the previous Labour Government left to rot for a duration greater than that of the combined total of two world wars?

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about our burning ambition to ensure that we out-build—in social houses as well as in houses generally—anything that happened in the previous decade or two. He is also right that building on public sector land is an ambitious programme. I can update the House by saying that we have identified sufficient land for about 82,000 homes so far. That is without going through all Government Departments and arm’s length bodies. Indeed, we have not gone through the smaller sites—those for less than 40 homes—that could be used fruitfully to build houses. I am not familiar with the site that my hon. Friend has mentioned, but I would be very happy to discuss it with him.