Council Housing Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Perran Moon
Main Page: Perran Moon (Independent - Camborne and Redruth)Department Debates - View all Perran Moon's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Council Housing
Perran Moon Excerpts(1 day, 23 hours ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Ind)
Meur ras, Sir Jeremy, and it is an honour to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) for securing this debate.
The single greatest barrier to economic regeneration in Cornwall is housing insecurity and affordability. Employers cannot recruit and retain, young people cannot remain in their home communities and families cannot put down roots unless we have access to a secure, affordable home. That is before we mention the key workers required to run civic society.
Social housing accounts for less than 13% of Cornwall’s entire housing stock, compared with 17% nationally. In peak season, we have 24,000 short-term lets across the duchy, while 25,000 Cornish households sit on waiting lists on the housing register. In fairness, Cornwall council has delivered 850 homes in the last six years through its housing revenue account and general fund, but its capacity to go further is deeply constrained.
How do we revitalise social house building in Cornwall? First, Ministers must review Cornwall council’s £90 million HRA debt arising from 2012’s self-financing settlement. The assumptions underpinning the settlement no longer reflect today’s pressures and servicing that inherited debt diverts money from maintaining existing stock and rebuilding new homes.
Secondly, councils should receive the same access to low-cost development finance as registered providers. Refinancing £52 million of planned development borrowing at 0.1% could save Cornwall council £19 million over 14 years, creating up to £1.8 million in annual revenue headroom and supporting up to £41 million of additional borrowing for new homes.
Thirdly, Cornwall must not be excluded from housing and investment powers because of our national minority status. A strategic place partnership with Homes England could provide both the framework and funding needed to deliver social housing at scale. We will never be part of a mayoral combined authority because of our national minority status, and we cannot be discriminated against and locked out of that funding.
I therefore ask Ministers to review the HRA debt, extend low-cost financing to councils and ensure Cornwall’s immediate access to a strategic place partnership with Homes England.