Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Ruane and Dominic Raab

Monday 12th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

17. What steps his Department is taking to tackle the practice of land banking.

[The Minister for Housing (Dominic Raab)]

Over 1 million homes have been delivered since 2010, but we are taking forward a range of reforms to build even more homes more swiftly, including under the national planning policy framework, which was published last week.

[Chris Ruane]

Two weeks ago, I asked the Department for the number of houses that will not be built because of land banking, and the answer came back:

“The Department does not hold the requested information.”

How can the Minister crack down on land banking if he has no information? I believe that the Minister does have that information, and I urge him to publish it so that he can monitor the builders and we can monitor his performance.

[Dominic Raab]

I welcome that scrutiny. It is very difficult to establish a negative in the way the hon. Gentleman suggests, but I can reassure him, first, that we have the housing delivery test in the NPPF, which will focus local authorities and developers on the delivery of new homes, and, secondly, that there is the review by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) of build-out rates, which will squarely address the point he is concerned about.