Housebuilding

Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Evans of Rainow

Thursday 21st September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

I agree with the noble Lord. Our £11.5 billion affordable homes programme will deliver thousands of new homes across the country, and a large number of these will be for social rent. Local authorities have a key role to play in increasing the supply of social housing; in 2021-22 they delivered nearly 800,000 affordable homes, which represented 13% of the overall affordable housing delivery and the highest recorded number of local authority completions since 1991-92.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Evans, to the ever-growing DLUHC team in your Lordships’ House. I grew up in a council house, so I know from personal experience that social housing should be treated as a national asset to be proud of, to invest in, to protect and to maintain. But local authorities have had little support under this Government to replenish our stock—the Minister outlined how much but it does not go very far. As over 1 million people are still stuck on social housing waiting lists, will the Government now look again at social housing policy and help local authorities to build more safe, secure houses?

[Lord Evans of Rainow (Con)]

I too was born and bred for 25 years of my early life in a council house. Local authorities do a good job, but the noble Baroness is absolutely right that there is more to do. The Government have done a good job on affordable housing, but local authorities of all colours could do a lot more on affordable housing and social housing in particular. The council housing that I was brought up in was of very high quality and is still there today. The communities that it develops are long-standing, and we need to maintain them.