Jeremy Corbyn
Will the Minister join me in congratulating my own local authority and other Labour-controlled authorities that have managed to build council housing at the present time? Will he also recognise that until now, council tenancies have been the most secure form of tenancy in the country and have provided a stable home for many families, and that that is the best way out of the housing crisis? Will he stop using the word “affordable” and start talking about council housing at fair rents?
Mr Foster
What I will do is tell the hon. Gentleman that during the last three years of the Labour Government, the number of social houses fell by 421,000. I hope that he is delighted that the number of completions of social houses in his constituency has gone up significantly in the last 12 months, and that he will welcome the additional funds we are making available—funding that his local authority failed to join in with when the Homes and Communities Agency offered it.
[Official Report, 17 September 2012, Vol. 550, c. 633-34.]
Letter of correction from Don Foster:
An error has been identified in the answer given on 17 September 2012 to the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn).
The correct answer should have been:
Mr Foster
What I will do is tell the hon. Gentleman that during the last 13 years of the Labour Government, the number of social houses fell by 421,000. I hope that he is delighted that the number of completions of social houses in his constituency has gone up significantly in the last 12 months, and that he will welcome the additional funds we are making available—funding that his local authority failed to join in with when the Homes and Communities Agency offered it.