Housing: New Housebuilding

Baroness Hollis of Heigham Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, the noble Lord will know that, by and large, housing is now provided by registered social landlords—housing associations—and that any money is passed to them. He will also know that the new homes bonus, which is made available to local authorities once they have completed extra housing, also helps. Under the new homes bonus scheme, some 400,000 properties have already been added.

[Baroness Hollis of Heigham]

My Lords, following the question of the noble Lord, Lord Bichard, about housing for the elderly, does the Minister agree with us that, as a result of the bedroom tax, pensioners who would like to downsize will not be able to because those of working age who do not want to downsize are being forced to do so?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I do not accept what the noble Baroness says. Pensioners are not affected by what she is pleased to call the bedroom tax, but which by everybody else’s standards is called the spare room subsidy measure—I thought that would trip lightly off my lips and would help the noble Baroness enormously. Pensioners living in houses will not be affected by these regulations.