Housing

Bill Esterson Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey]

I will cover that in greater detail later, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government blamed the failure to build homes on the planning system and so tore the system up by its roots. We warned them of the consequences: damaging uncertainty, chaos, confusion and hiatus. Sure enough, the figures bear that out. The ink is barely dry on the new national planning policy framework, planted only four and a half months ago, but they want to tear it up once again and say that it needs fundamental reform.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

While my hon. Friend is on the subject, does he agree that changing the planning system is not the simplest and most straightforward way to revive the housing market, because currently around 330,000 new homes could be built with existing planning consents?

[Jack Dromey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We meet regularly some of the major developers and building companies, and they all say the same thing. They have planning permission for in excess of 300,000 sites, and the figure is rising, but they simply do not feel that they can proceed, not least because of the state of the economy and the mortgage market. Again and again we have had those false dawns from this failed Government, and now once again Ministers will don their wellies and high-vis jackets. More schemes to get Britain building are promised, as if saying it will make it so.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Prisk]

I think that was, “Yes but, no but, yes but, no but.” It is interesting; I am delighted and will obviously want to talk to the LGA group to see if it shares the hon. Gentleman’s view. I hope it is the case that the entire Labour party will adopt the right-to-buy scheme and recognise that we should all be standing behind aspiring tenants. I would love to be a fly on the wall at the hon. Gentleman’s next meeting with the LGA Labour group.

Let me move on to the issue of building new homes. I am alert to the fact that time has passed, and I wish to ensure that Back-Bench Members have the opportunity to speak, especially given the ruling from Mr Deputy Speaker. In many parts of the country, there is a difficult housing market. We are under no illusions about that and one has only to look around the world to see housing markets in real difficulties. Much of that is a result of the financial consequences of the housing boom and bust that took place under the previous Administration.

That is why we have launched the £570 million Get Britain Building investment fund that will unlock stalled sites for up to 16,000 homes and hopefully create up to 30,000 jobs. In addition—we have had a lot of support from many Back-Bench Labour Members on this—we set up the £770 million Growing Places fund for local enterprise partnership areas to fund infrastructure projects that will help to unlock some of the more troublesome sites.

We are accelerating the release of surplus Government-owned land, with capacity to deliver up to 100,000 new homes on brownfield land to the benefit of communities around the country. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington mentioned that point, and I shall look again at his representations. I must ask, however, why over 13 years the previous Labour Government did not do that already? Why did they wait until they were in Opposition and then try to lecture us on what should happen in the future? It is a shame, but I would always be happy to hear a positive representation on the issue.

[Bill Esterson]

I welcome the Minister to his new post. Does he agree with the Prime Minister and Chancellor on the need to build on green belt, especially given that his 2005 ten-minute rule Bill specifically showed his opposition to that? Does he agree with the Prime Minister and Chancellor or does he stand by what he said seven years ago?

[Mr Prisk]

The Prime Minister and Chancellor are not saying that. If I have learned anything, it is not to believe everything I read in the newspapers.

Alongside the measures I have just described, it is important to ensure that we help local areas, but not in the same way as the previous Government. For example, we could help those local areas that wish to deliver locally led large-scale new developments in a way that helps their communities. Unlike the previous Government, whose eco-towns were promised and never happened, this Government do not intend to dictate to people or impose on them. We want to work with them, which is an important principle.

Let me give an example of how that policy has worked. I pay tribute to my predecessor, because last week, the Government helped to unlock plans for 23,000 homes on the brownfield site of Eastern Quarry in Ebbsfleet. Those plans had been stuck on the drawing board for a decade, but the homes can now be built.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

I commend to the Minister the advice of the Chair of the Select Committee to read the very good report that it prepared on this subject. It gives excellent examples of how to start to tackle the housing crisis. The evidence alone is worth reading for good examples from not only this country but throughout the world that we might embrace.

The hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke) talked about the challenges of the green belt from the perspective of representing a seat outside a northern city. I am in a similar position and face threats to every small town and village that I represent. I hope that the Minister will respond to the hon. Gentleman’s comments about providing incentives for brownfield development because they are much needed. There are good examples of brownfield sites around the country that were made viable under the Labour Government. Perhaps the Minister will consider what is needed to achieve such development during his tenure.

Many of my constituents need housing. Many come to me for help with stories of the difficulties of finding anywhere to rent or buy. In Sefton, there are precious few homes available. In the town where I live, it can take up to eight years for those on the housing list to be given a house. The issue is of huge concern, yet the options are severely limited. Of course people want to stay in the town or village in which they live or grew up and where they have families and friends, and I hope that the Minister will address that. My hon. Friend the shadow Minister referred to the need to look at the local nature of housing need, and that is one of many issues to be resolved.

There are many practical actions that the Government could take to help. The borough of Sefton contains 6,000 empty properties, and although VAT on renovations is charged at 20%, there is no VAT on new build properties, which makes it harder to bring empty properties back into use. Encouraging the renovation of empty properties is an important step and would help the economy. The tax on bankers’ bonuses is mentioned in the motion, and the proposed construction of 25,000 affordable homes is of great interest. The lack of affordable homes to rent, to buy or for shared ownership is the crucial problem facing my constituents and those of all hon. Members.

The Chancellor called for the planning system to be speeded up to help the construction industry, and in an earlier intervention I mentioned the need to use existing planning consents. Shaun Spiers, chief executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, made the point better than I can: if we are to have the homes that are needed, particularly the affordable homes, we need to use existing planning consents rather than seek more.

In Formby in my constituency, a representative from the developer David Wilson Homes told those attending a recent public exhibition about plans to build 300 houses on green-belt land. Hundreds of residents who turned up to the meeting were told that the development would go ahead and that there was nothing they could do about it. That exhibition coincided with the Chancellor’s announcement about making planning easier, and the concern is that developers are queuing up to build on the green belt in places such as my constituency—and many other constituencies with rural or semi-rural areas—because it is more attractive and financially more advantageous.

I hope that the Minister will listen to hon. Members from across the House who have called for practical suggestions that will protect the green belt as far as possible, and that he will take on board suggestions from members of his own party as well as from the Labour party on solving this very real housing crisis.