Housebuilding

Baroness Williams of Trafford Excerpts

Wednesday 7th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

It is in fact the turn of the Labour Benches.

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab)]

My Lords, following on from the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, the recent proposal by the Labour Party to remove hope value would allow social landlords more easily to develop the affordable homes our country so badly needs. Fewer than 7,000 were built last year but we need 90,000 every year, so it is not surprising that these proposed reforms are supported by a wide range of organisations, including the National Housing Federation and Shelter. What assessment have the Government made of the impact of high land values on our ability to deliver new social housing?

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[Lord Haselhurst (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Haselhurst (Con)]

My Lords—

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[Noble Lords]

Order!

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

It is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Birt (CB)]

My Lords, we have long had a housing crisis. Hundreds of thousands are homeless, millions are living in substandard and overcrowded accommodation, there are 2 million fewer social housing units than some decades ago and home ownership among the young has fallen dramatically. Does the Minister agree that we need to create many more than 300,000 new dwellings per year if we are to achieve a reasonable equilibrium in reasonable time in the UK’s housing market?