Daniel Zeichner
Main Page: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Brandon Lewis
Some 261,000 properties have been given planning permission in the past year. That is a good sign, and it is pretty much a record figure. We need to make sure that those homes are developed in good time. Local authorities grant planning permission for a limited time, so they should rightly expect developers to build them out.
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)
10. What the replacement rate of council homes sold through the right-to-buy scheme has been since 2012.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
12. What the replacement rate of council homes sold through the right-to-buy scheme has been since 2012.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)
Local authorities have three years from the date of sale of each home to replace the property. In the first year following the reinvigoration of the right to buy, there were 3,053 additional sales. Within two years—by the end of 2014-15—3,337 replacements were started or acquired.
Daniel Zeichner
I recall that at the start of the previous Parliament one-for-one replacement was promised, but across the country the actual figure has cracked out at one for 10, and in my city it is one for nine. Why should anyone believe these assurances now?
Greg Clark
I welcome the hon. Gentleman to the House. He must not have listened to my answer, because I said that there were 3,053 additional sales and 3,337 replacements, which is more than one for one.