Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Lord Sharma
Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)
With the abolition of stamp duty for most first-time buyers, families in Wealden will save, on average, £3,209 on their first home. Will the Minister say what else is being done to help families secure their first home?
Alok Sharma
Of course I am delighted that my hon. Friend has highlighted the stamp duty cut, but we also know that for a number of years we have been running the Help to Buy scheme, which has helped 135,000 households already, and the extra £10 billion committed a few weeks ago will help another 35,000 households.
Grenfell Rehousing
Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Lord Sharma
Alok Sharma
I talked about the expert advisory panel, which will consider many such matters. As the Prime Minister said at last week’s PMQs, we need to look “much more widely” at what has happened
“under different Governments and under different councils”.—[Official Report, 28 June 2017; Vol. 626, c. 587.]
We will ensure that we get to the bottom of that. It is vital that people feel safe, and that is what we are going to ensure.
Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)
I thank the Minister for his statement and for assuring the survivors that they will be supported at the pace they want. There have been disputed reports in the media about the number of missing residents, and the situation has been complicated by sub-letting. What efforts have been made to help to identify missing residents?
Alok Sharma
We want to build as full a list as possible of the people who were in the building at that tragic time. As my hon. Friend will know, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said that if people were sub-letting illegally, they will be exempt from prosecution. If some of them are aware of people who were in the building that we do not know about, I hope that they will come forward.