Kris Hopkins
Main Page: Kris Hopkins (Conservative - Keighley)(10 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Stephen Phillips (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
2. What representations he has received on the cumulative visual impact of proposed wind turbines in Lincolnshire.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
We have received a number of representations about matters relating to wind turbine proposals in Lincolnshire, including their visual impact. We are very clear about the need for councils to consider cumulative impacts, and our new planning guidance underlines the fact that they require particular attention.
Stephen Phillips
In Lincolnshire there has been a large number of planning applications for wind turbines, many of which are in close proximity to one another. When I and other Lincolnshire Members meet local residents, they often tell us of their concern that planning authorities do not take into account the accumulation of turbines when deciding individual applications, so what further steps is the Department taking to enable local authorities to look at the bigger picture?
Kris Hopkins
This Government have been robust in laying out guidelines relating to landscape, heritage and local amenities, and in ensuring that the Secretary of State can recover those applications to ensure the guidelines have been adhered to. I reassure my hon. and learned Friend that since the proposals were brought in, the proportion of successful applications has dropped from 52% to 36%.
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
3. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of his Department’s proposed change to permitted development rights on the number of (a) betting shops and (b) fixed-odds betting terminals on high streets.
Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)
6. What assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of private rents.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
The Office for National Statistics’ latest figures show that rents are falling in real terms; in England they have risen by just 1.1%, which is well below the rate of inflation.
Mike Gapes
I do not know whether the Minister has got some figures for London, but I can tell him that private rents are going up here. They are rising consistently, particularly in outer London, as a result of Government policy. It has also been revealed that 36% of properties sold under the right to buy in London are now in the hands of private landlords, who are charging extortionate private rents. What more are the Government going to do about it, instead of using complacent weasel words such as we just heard?
Kris Hopkins
I do have the figures for London actually. The ONS clearly states that rents in London have risen by 1.9%, which is still below inflation. Those are the figures on actual rents paid, as opposed to advertised rates—they are what often fill our newspapers. This Government are absolutely committed to right to buy. We want to encourage as many people as possible to own their own house, and that is the right thing to do.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Families in private rented accommodation have as much right to a decent home as anybody else, so will the Minister bring forward a new deal which will ensure that families in private rented homes can look forward to more predictable rents, longer-term tenancies and better standards?
Kris Hopkins
This Government are absolutely committed to increasing the number of rented properties, challenging the behaviour of the rented sector—the management of those properties—and making sure that the quality of those houses is put in place. Our approach includes the redress scheme which is currently in the House of Lords, and I look forward to it coming to this House so that we can support tenants and the management of those houses.
Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
20. I draw the attention of hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Private rents in my constituency are now so high that constituents are coming to my surgery afraid to take on private tenancies for fear that on an average wage they are unable to afford them, which they certainly are. When will the Minister wake up, smell the coffee and get a house building programme in place? Does he not agree that that would reduce private rents?
Kris Hopkins
The Mayor of London is absolutely committed to building an affordable base, which is why this Government have supported his strategy to build more affordable housing with a £1.1 billion grant, which will deliver some 32,000 houses. Before the hon. Lady chucks stones, she should be aware that the number of affordable houses dropped by 427,000 from the start of Labour’s term in government to when it finished. Labour let down the people of this great city, not this Government.
Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)
Alongside a tenants charter, which has been referred to, the key to rents and indeed the private rented sector must surely be institutional investment for the long term. What progress is being made with the Build to Rent fund, to which the Minister alluded? How many schemes will it unlock, and let us contrast that with the paucity of action that we saw under the previous Government?
Kris Hopkins
I applaud the work that my hon. Friend did during his time in this position. The Build to Rent programme has been oversubscribed. The first round is some £200 million. Those houses are now beginning to come out of the ground. There are projects in Southampton and Manchester. As a northern MP, I know that the area will appreciate the development of some 100 new properties. Bids have now been received for phase 2. Applications worth more than £2 billion have been made. We are looking forward to announcing the results of that round in the spring. I am talking not about promises to deliver more housing, but about real tangible housing coming out of the ground as a consequence of this Government’s intervention.
Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
The Minister seems to be in complete denial about the levels of unaffordable rents in London and elsewhere. In London, for example, an average family spends more than half its income on rent. The truth is that the Government are presiding over the lowest level of house building since the 1920s and they have cut the affordable homes budget by 60%. Furthermore, the number of working families receiving housing benefit has doubled. What will the Government do to boost supply and to ensure that rents are affordable?
Kris Hopkins
The reality is that it was the Labour Government who delivered the lowest number of houses built in their last term of office. Despite presiding over a period of boom, they still never achieved the ambitious figures that they are talking about now. At the peak, only 176,000 houses were delivered. It is this Government who are using both public and private money to deliver a very ambitious project of affordable housing. Of the 170,000 houses that are planned, 99,000 have already been delivered. We are more than halfway through. With the money that we have given to the Mayor, another 32,000 houses will be delivered. It is this Government who are committed to building houses.
John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne) (Lab)
12. What steps he is taking to ensure that claimants of housing benefit are able to access accommodation in the private rented sector.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
The key to making the private rented sector accessible to all is to build more homes for rent. That is why we are investing in the private rented sector through the £1 billion Build to Rent fund and giving £3.5 billion in guarantees to get builders building—and we will deliver 170,000 new affordable homes by 2015 through this process.
John Healey
I came across the case of Christina last week. She is a homeless young woman, helped by Centrepoint, the charity. She wants to finish her college course, she wants to get a job, and she wants to move on with her life, but she cannot because no private landlord will take her while she is on housing benefit. Will the Minister now admit that the housing benefit changes are locking people on low incomes, including those who are in work, out of private housing altogether?
Kris Hopkins
If the right hon. Gentleman wants to write to me about the specific individual concerned, I will attempt to address that case, but I reassure the House that we take seriously the need to deliver affordable housing. That is why the Government have clearly laid out that our principal priority in house building is supporting the affordable sector. Indeed, 170,000 new houses will be delivered by 2015, and we will soon announce a prospectus that will deliver 160,000 new homes by 2018. That is our commitment to people such as the one he mentioned.
Helen Jones (Warrington North) (Lab)
The Minister and his colleagues have frequently told those who are in receipt of housing benefit and subject to the bedroom tax that they should downsize, yet for many people that means moving into the private sector, which either will not take them or, if it does, charges more rent, so costing the public purse more. Is it not time that the Government abandoned this totally ill-conceived policy?
Kris Hopkins
There are more than 1 million one-bedroom flats on the market at the moment, and the Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that there are more houses out there. Every single penny that we are spending on housing is intended specifically to address that need, to ensure that vulnerable individuals are supported, with £470 million for the homeless and £445 million for transition through welfare reform. We have had to make those difficult decisions because the previous Labour Government failed to do so.
Mike Thornton (Eastleigh) (LD)
13. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the troubled families unit since its creation.
Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)
14. What assessment he has made of changes in demand for larger social homes since April 2013.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
We do not undertake a national assessment of need as we believe that such assessments are better made at a local level. In the new affordable homes programme we will encourage the building of homes to match local needs, including smaller properties in areas with a shortage, and funding for larger homes where that is appropriate.
Graeme Morrice
There is much evidence to suggest that the Government’s bedroom tax is responsible not only for an increase in the number of empty larger properties but for escalating rent arrears and significant extra costs to social landlords. As my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) said, why is the Minister defending this iniquitous and failing policy that is resulting in abject misery for thousands of families up and down the country?
Kris Hopkins
There is no evidence that removing the spare room subsidy has had that impact. There will be an assessment in the spring, when we will look at that. I would imagine that any of the 1.69 million people who are currently on waiting lists in a council area with an empty house would be outraged that they are still on a waiting list and are not being accommodated by the local council. There should be no empty homes out there when such a significant number of people are demanding a house.
Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)
15. What guidance he has issued to local authorities on prioritising (a) members of the armed forces and (b) local residents for social housing.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
I am incredibly proud that this Government have published guidance strongly encouraging councils to prioritise armed forces members and their families for social housing. Last month we issued guidance ensuring that local homes go to local people.
Caroline Dinenage
My constituency has a very proud history of serving the armed forces and was an early adopter of the armed forces covenant. Although I warmly welcome the Government’s efforts to encourage local authorities to prioritise local people when allocating social housing, what is the Minister doing to encourage local councils to make sure that forces families are not disadvantaged by this measure?
Kris Hopkins
As a former squaddie, I think this Government can be very proud of what we have done, whether it is the Help to Buy scheme, the covenant, or making sure that members of our armed forces who have been away from home still have a high priority on waiting lists. That message has gone out to local councils, and they need to adhere to the policy to support members of the armed forces who live in my hon. Friend’s constituency and in many others.
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
16. What estimate he has made of the number of families with children who were placed in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the statutory maximum six-week period since 2010.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
Keeping families with children in bed-and-breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks is unacceptable and unlawful. We challenged local authorities to grip the problem and gave them an extra £2 million to help in that process.
Diana Johnson
Today, BBC Radio Humberside reports increasing numbers of families being evicted in Hull. Soaring homelessness under this coalition has seen an 800% increase in families staying in bed-and-breakfast accommodation beyond the six-week statutory limit. What is the Minister going to do about it?
Kris Hopkins
I am sure that everybody in this House wants to address homelessness, and this Government have committed some £470 million to doing so. Some 53,000 people are currently rated homeless compared with 133,000 people at the high point under the Labour Government. According to the most recent figures that I have, no household with children has been in a B and B for more than six weeks in Kingston upon Hull.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)
T2.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)
T10. A disabled constituent of mine lives with her husband in a two-bedroom property. The second bedroom is used as a lockable safe room because her husband’s mental health condition leads him to become violent. She manages thanks to the discretionary housing payment, which is by definition discretionary and temporary. Why is she not exempt from the hideous bedroom tax, given her circumstances?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
The hon. Lady is right that councils have the discretion to remove those demands from people in those particular medical circumstances. If she would like to write to me about the circumstances of that case, I will take it up with my colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)
T9. The Stanmore estate in Winchester was one of the first council estates in the country and was built in the post-great war building boom. Thanks to the changes to housing finance, Winchester city council is investing £60 million over the next 10 years to build 400 new council homes. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is very good for my constituents and that it is a genuinely affordable housing scheme?
Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab)
The Government give private landlords £9.5 billion every year through housing benefit, and yet they spend only £1.1 billion on building affordable homes. If they spent all that money on affordable homes, they could build 600,000 homes every year. Why does not the Minister stop picking on and vilifying low-income tenants, and call time on profiteering landlords by capping rents and using the savings in housing benefit to build more council houses?
Kris Hopkins
This Government have invested some £4.1 million into tackling rogue landlords. We have received a number of thank you letters from people on the Labour side, which is not in line with what the hon. Gentleman is saying. The Government are ensuring that tenants have decent homes. We support tenants and are not afraid of taking on rogue landlords.
Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
Is my right hon. Friend aware that Cherwell district council is willing to discuss with him the possibility of Bicester becoming a new garden city? Work has started on the eco town and the redundant Ministry of Defence land. It is probably one of the largest house building areas in south-east England, and we are certainly willing to enter into constructive dialogue about a new garden city with the Secretary of State.