Baroness Burt of Solihull
Main Page: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Mr Pickles
In the town hall, the Labour party has a very small room, and everybody heard what she had to say and everybody heard him planning this particular question. The figures he has produced are approximate, because nobody entirely knows yet. He knows that any figure with a nought at the end is an approximate figure—or he should know that. It is about time that he and the Labour party woke up to their responsibilities. If they are imposing a tax on the poor, it is entirely up to the local authorities to act. They have the power—indeed, a number of authorities have the power—to remove this completely, but they hide behind and seek to persecute and to tax the poor.
I know that the right hon. Gentleman knows plenty about a bedroom tax, because he has got plenty of spare bedrooms himself.
Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD)
T2. What assessment has been made of the number of new homes that could be built if relatively small patches of local authority-owned brownfield land could be sold to provide private landlords for house building?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Don Foster)
I thank my hon. Friend; she is absolutely right. She knows that the Government are keen to see building on brownfield land where it is not of environmental value. We have provided a number of separate funds to help to unlock that. The Residential Landlords Association is now coming forward with some other interesting, additional ideas for ways to move forward and we look forward to hearing those proposals.
Mr Speaker
Order. The hon. Lady does not get a second bite of the cherry. She has had one go. She may feel like another, but I am not sure the House will necessarily feel the same way. We are grateful to her; we will bear her in mind for another day.