Housing

Lord Stunell Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I start by making a declaration—not one that appears in my entry in the register but to say that I spent 13 years working in the architects department of a new town, putting up homes, factories and shops. It was very easy to do that because there was no local consultation, no involvement of local democracy, no hassle, and no localism. I want to hear a little from Labour Front Benchers about the strong tension between the words in their motion about creating new towns and their recent paper-thin conversion to a commitment to localism.

I also want to hear from Labour Front Benchers, as I heard from the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Austin Mitchell), a word of apology. In the 13 years that Labour were in Government, Stockport lost 2,683 social homes and none were built in their place, and 421,000 homes were lost from the social housing stock across the whole of England, which the hon. Gentleman, to his credit, pointed out.

At the height of the boom in 2003, 90,000 homes were lost. In 2004, 71,000 were lost and in 2005 the figure was 69,000. In those three years alone, 230,000 social homes for rent—a quarter of a million homes—were lost from the housing stock. That took the number of homes in the social rented sector below 4 million for the first time since 1955. At that time, the current shadow Chancellor was telling us that there should be less regulation of banks and the then Prime Minister was telling us, solemnly and repeatedly, that he had got rid of boom and bust. He turned out to be 50% right: he had got rid of the boom. It would be good to hear a word of apology for not just the housing situation we inherited, but the financial situation, too.

The coalition Government have started to put things right. Our £4.5 billion investment programme is delivering social homes for rent at only half the public subsidy required under Labour. Labour took us below the 4 million homes mark nine years ago. It took another six years of Labour Government to take us a further 72,000 homes below that, but I am very pleased indeed that it has taken three years for the coalition Government to bring them back.

[Sheila Gilmore]

Does the right hon. Gentleman not appreciate that one of the reasons he is able to stand up and say that the subsidy for building affordable homes will be lower is that they will not be truly affordable homes? That will result in yet another ratcheting up of the housing benefit bill. The cost, therefore, will be considerable.

[Sir Andrew Stunell]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention, but the fact of the matter is that we are replacing social and affordable homes that should never have been lost in the first place: 421,000 homes were lost from the stock. As every expert, academic and, indeed, politician recognises, if we want growth in housing overall, there has to be growth in social housing. Labour blew its chance to deliver that and it is the coalition that is creating the opportunity for it to happen.

Contrary to what the hon. Member for Great Grimsby said, this country now has a policy whereby, when a social home is sold, another will be built in its place. He would be right to say that it takes a little while to get the planning permission and other stuff in place, but the policy and the delivery of it are there. [Interruption.] I ask the groaners on the Opposition Benches: where was that policy during their 13 years? Some 400,000 homes were lost and no attempt whatever was made to replace them, leaving the waiting list at a record level. As the Secretary of State reported, it has now, thank goodness, dropped.

The Liberal Democrat influence on this coalition Government means that we are delivering more social homes and, at the end of this Parliament, we will have an increased stock, not a reduced stock, which is exactly what Labour left us with—a reduction of 421,000. We shall have an increase of 150,000. I am proud of that, and all Government Members should be proud of it, too.