Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love(10 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Pickles
It has not been as successful in Wales, because Labour rather botched its introduction of Help to Buy. I was recently in Mid Bedfordshire looking at some houses on a Barratt Homes development, and I was surprised to find that all the brickies came from Wales. The explanation was that because of the decline of house building in Wales, ambitious brickies are coming to England for work.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
Help to Buy is strengthening demand for housing, but if that is not met by an increase in supply, it will simply end in higher prices. What is the Secretary of State doing to increase supply, which we know is at one of the lowest levels in recorded history?
Mr Pickles
I think we have made quite a lot of progress. As the hon. Gentleman admits, we inherited the lowest level of house building at any time since the 1920s. The current figures for the amount of house building taking place are more than encouraging—it is quite a success, and I think he will be pleased when the latest figures are released.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love
Mr Pickles
I said before the last general election that any authority official who came to me with a proposal for a reorganisation would be met with a pearl-handled revolver that I kept in my desk. It sounds as though it is time to oil the thing again.
We have no intention of carrying out a reorganisation. Any spending on a reorganisation is a fundamental waste of taxpayers’ money.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
T2. When his party was in opposition, the Prime Minister described homelessness and rough sleeping as a disgrace. Last week the Department published figures which showed that since 2010, rough sleeping had increased by 37%. How would the Minister describe that record?
Housing
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love(10 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
The right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) spoke with considerable sincerity and eloquence, as did Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister, in paying tribute to Paul Goggins. Before we go on, I wish to say that I had experience of Paul as a Minister when I pursued a constituency case, and I found him to be courteous, diligent and helpful. I also had experience of him when I was the Minister, and he pursued his constituents’ interest doggedly but always with enormous charm. I think it is heartbreaking that a man who had so much to offer to this House and, far more importantly, to his family has gone so prematurely, and I will miss him.
I welcome this debate. We have been through a difficult housing crisis but this is only the second debate on housing that the official Opposition have called, and we had to goad them into calling one of those. Throughout the period, I have never felt under any pressure from the official Opposition on housing, and the right hon. Member for Leeds Central has eloquently demonstrated why that is. All Labour Members want to do today is talk down the economy, ignore the recovery and cast their heads in the sand about the sustained turnaround in the housing market. It has certainly taken some time to deal with the problems that Labour left us. The right hon. Gentleman referred to Stanley Baldwin’s housing figures, and when I walked through the door of Eland house the spirit of Stanley Baldwin and those figures met me. That was our baseline—that is what we actually started from. Once upon a time—
Mr Pickles
I will give way in a few moments. Would it be possible for me actually to say something before the hon. Gentleman intervenes?
Once upon a time, the last Labour Prime Minister, advised by the current Leader of the Opposition and shadow Chancellor, announced that he had abolished “boom and bust”. It was a debt-fuelled illusion of a boom, resulting in the biggest budget deficit in our peacetime history and a crash that devastated the housing market—all that was on Labour’s watch. Let us cast our minds back to 2008—
Mr Pickles
I have looked most carefully at the figures. It is not a surprise that the number of repossessions is dropping, and that is something about which we should be pleased. Mortgage approvals are at their highest level for six years. The Mortgage Advice Bureau notes that the number of mortgage products available to house buyers has surpassed the 10,000 mark, and cites Government action as the cause.
We are taking action to help those with small deposits. Since April, under the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, there have been more than 20,000 reservations for new build homes, supporting house building and first-time buyers. Over 90% of the 1,200 house builders registered under the scheme are small to medium-sized developers.
The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme has had a further 6,000 applications in the first month, helping hard-working families. The average house price guaranteed under the scheme is just under £160,000.
Mr Pickles
I am coming to supply in a moment. The hon. Gentleman should be a little patient.
Labour might not have supported the scheme, but Santander has said that Help to Buy has been
“a major cause of increased confidence in the housing market.”
We are also helping the less well-off. More than 150,000 new affordable homes have been built in England in the past three years, assisted by our £20 billion affordable housing programme. Thanks to our reforms to the Housing Revenue Account, more council housing has been built in the three years of this Government than in all the 13 years of the previous Labour Government.
Local Government Finance
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love
Mr Pickles
Westminster will make a considerable contribution to the levy so that money goes directly to Durham. Money from Westminster will go directly to Durham, so if Westminster does very well—as it will—Durham will benefit.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
My local authority, Enfield, faces a triple whammy under the Government. First, the rapid demographic change of which the right hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) spoke is happening but is not recognised. Secondly, the Audit Commission reallocation from poor to richer authorities affects my area. Thirdly, the damping formula, which will be engaged for an extra two years, will affect my local authority. Can the Secretary of State give my constituents any reassurance that the Government recognise the problems of London boroughs?
Mr Pickles
Yes. I can helpfully tell the hon. Gentleman that, per household, he will receive £3,015, which is well above the national average. I am delighted to say that spending power goes down by just 0.6%, which is significantly less than other reductions. He is therefore sitting pretty.
Housing and Planning
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love(12 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Pickles
I am delighted to say that from tomorrow we will be open for bids for this, and that the call-in procedures will be implemented as I walk out of the door today. Quite a lot of this is happening over the next few days.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
The House is still not clear about the policy on green-belt land. The Minister has not allayed the fears raised in the Chancellor’s recent statement. He seems to suggest that as long as some replacement land is declared green belt, we can have a free-for-all on the current green belt. Will he categorically assure the House that green belt land will be protected as it always has been?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love
Mr Pickles
The hon. Gentleman may find himself spinning alone on that—but the answer is very soon.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
What comfort can the Secretary of State give my constituents, who, like those in Bristol, are affected by a blizzard of small extensions that the local authority never seems to be able to deal with? Surely there must be powers at the centre to get local authorities to take this matter seriously?
Mr Pickles
The hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) was referring to the new phenomenon of sheds in people’s back gardens, whereby people are often paying over the odds for substandard accommodation in very cramped conditions, and are largely being exploited by their landlords. There is permitted development for some extensions. If the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr Love) feels that there are developments in his constituency that exceed what is permitted, perhaps we could have a word about them outside the Chamber.
Local Government Finance
Debate between Lord Pickles and Andrew Love
Mr Pickles
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s comments. This system was designed for the go-getter that she undoubtedly is, and it will do a lot of good for her council. We will ensure that this system releases local authorities from the shackles of failure.
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
Every time the right hon. Gentleman utters the words “fair” and “equitable”, we become much more sceptical on this side of the House as we realise what is happening under this scheme. While Westminster will roar ahead over the next few years, councils like mine in Enfield in the outer boroughs of London will do very badly, yet many of the people who live in Enfield work in Westminster, and many of the businesses in Westminster are run by people from Enfield so there is an interdependence. What recognition will there be in the system that although many people contribute to the so-called growth in local authority areas, not all of them live there?
Mr Pickles
The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. Already the London councils are working on a pooling system for the receipts of the business rate, and are fairly well advanced in their planning. The advantage of having pooling across London is that any growth in Westminster—the hon. Gentleman is right to say that it will indeed be great—will be shared with the people of Enfield. I urge him to look at the part of the consultation paper that deals with pooling. He makes a very reasonable point and something clearly has to be done about it. I would expect other parts of the country also to pool so that rich authorities and poor authorities can both enjoy the benefits of growth.