Housing

Simon Hughes Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey]

Sadly, when we took office in 1997 we were confronted with a Conservative legacy of disrepair and neglect. We invested £19 billion to bring more than 1.5 million homes up to the decent homes standard, and I have seen in my constituency how that transformed the lives of the people in those homes. Some 75% of all tenants concerned had their homes brought up to the decent homes standard. Did the hon. Gentleman’s Government stick to that progress when they took office? No, they did not.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

I have been in this House for nearly 30 years, and the whole time we have been short of affordable housing, under Tory and Labour Governments, but Labour built less council housing than any previous Administration. The hon. Gentleman’s criticism would be more effective if he acknowledged Labour’s failure to put housing at the top of its agenda. The difference is that this Government understand that housing has to be at the top of their agenda.

[Jack Dromey]

A record of 2 million more homes, 1 million more mortgages holders, half a million more affordable homes and 1.6 million homes brought up to the decent homes standard is one that we can rightly be proud of. All I will say now, as I will say later on, is that in the here and now there is a pretty dramatic contrast between what Labour councils and Conservative-led councils are doing in building new council homes, taking advantage of the housing revenue account reforms, reforms that we pioneered.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Prisk]

Those 23,000 homes are testimony to the incompetence of the previous Labour Government.

[Simon Hughes]

I welcome the Minister to his new post and the Government’s commitment to delivering the housing that Britain needs. May I alert him to one issue we need to address? Recent figures show a lot of investment in housing that is for use not by occupants, but as investments by companies around the world. Properties are being built and bought, but not put into use. We need to ensure that the properties that will be built will be available for people to live in, and not held empty as investments to make money, which often goes abroad.

[Mr Prisk]

That is a perfectly sensible point, but I want to look at it in a little more detail and get to understand the issue. I am a chartered surveyor, so have perhaps the dangerous quality of a little knowledge of the subject I deal with as a Minister, but I want to ensure I understand the aspect to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, because the way in which the market works has changed.

With respect to interventions, many hon. Members wish to speak in the debate, so I shall make some remarks on the important issue of homelessness and then conclude. We want to ensure that we tackle homelessness and the problems of the most vulnerable. As the right hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members have said, the problem has been with us for many years. All Governments need to ensure that they are positive and determined to tackle the problem, but they also need to reflect on the fact that outside issues and complex causes underlie homelessness. I want to look, for example, at ex-service personnel and other groups with regard to homelessness, even if the Government have made important steps before I was able to take on the role of Housing Minister.

It is important to bear in mind that the statistics are not quite as bad as the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington painted—he was a little unnecessarily partisan. The statistics show us that homelessness is half the level it reached under the previous Labour Government and that it remains lower than in 28 of the past 30 years. I am under no illusion that there are things to do, but we have one of the strongest safety nets in the world to protect families and vulnerable households from losing their home. In addition, through the Government’s measures, councils have been able to help more than 13,000 vulnerable households to secure alternative accommodation when faced with the prospect of homelessness.

We are already taking action to help 50,000 households in temporary accommodation—all hon. Members will know of that challenge from constituents in that situation who have come to see them. We have consulted on a new power that will allow local authorities to use the private rented sector to house homeless families. That will mean shorter waiting times for homeless households and less time in temporary accommodation. Those with young children in particular will want the time they spend in temporary accommodation to be reduced—that is important.

I shall conclude now in order to allow as many Back Benchers as possible to contribute to the debate. The Government are working hard to substantially increase the supply of housing, from the low point of 2008-09. Our housing strategy combines practical measures with an understanding that Whitehall cannot, and should not, try to control the housing markets. Our work in helping first-time buyers, in freeing up the planning system and in unlocking stalled sites is all part of our commitment to enable more homes to be built. But we are not complacent. The global financial squeeze is continuing to impact. That is why, later this week, the Government will have more to say about how we can accelerate the progress already made in housing and infrastructure.

By tackling the deficit, we have built the foundation for a sustainable economy. We are now focused on getting houses built, providing more affordable homes and making sure that home ownership is affordable once again. I commend the Government’s amendment to the House.