Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of new starter homes which will be built in each of the next five years.

We are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, and our plans for starter homes. Since Spring 2010 Government-backed schemes have helped over 460,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced a stamp duty exemption for most first-time buyers.

The definition of a starter home is currently being finalised as part of the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework which we are consulting on. The consultation ends on 10 May and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-revised-national-planning-policy-framework

Following this, we expect to make an announcement on the next steps for starter homes.