Housing and Planning Bill

Debate between John Healey and Mark Prisk

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Healey]

It is quite the contrary. I was a strong supporter of the affordable homes programme, and I negotiated with the rest of the Government an unprecedented switch of £1.5 billion from other Departments so that we could build more genuinely affordable rented homes to help bring the country through the recession. If the hon. Gentleman looks at his Government’s record, he will see that eight out of 10 of the affordable homes for social rent that they claim they have built were started and funded through decisions that I made as Labour’s last Housing Minister.

[Mr Prisk]

Given the ownership that the right hon. Gentleman claims on this issue, does he regret the loss of 440,000 affordable homes under the previous Labour Government?

[John Healey]

I regret that—just as in the last five years of this Government—we did not do enough to ensure that when council homes were sold, there was enough funding to ensure that they could be replaced fully, one for one, like for like, and in the area in which they were lost. That big flaw in this Bill will become more and more exposed in every area, including in the constituencies of Conservative Members, in each of the next five years.