Housing: Rent and Covid-19 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
Baroness Pinnock
Main Page: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Pinnock's debates with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Greenhalgh (Con)
My Lords, we recognise that this is a terribly difficult pandemic, and a number of renters have had to move back home on losing their jobs. That is the kind of mobility you see in a seismic pandemic such as this, but the Government have increased the benefit cap, which has cost £9 billion in total. We will take further measures if necessary.
Baroness Pinnock (LD) [V]
Noting my register of interests, I ask the Minister this: more than 1 million households are registered on council waiting lists; the number is rising, due to the Covid crisis. Meanwhile, the number of homes for social rent has plummeted. Can he explain how the housing needs of desperate families are to be met now?
Lord Greenhalgh (Con)
My Lords, the statistics do not bear that out. We have seen a slight drop in social housing, down from 20% in 1999 to 17% in 2018, but there has been a seismic collapse in the levels of home ownership. Of course, we need social homes, but we also need those intermediate homes that enable people to get on in life.