Local Government Finance

Debate between Grant Shapps and Anne Main

Wednesday 8th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I am probably the first Housing and Local Government Minister in some time who has been able to discuss the matter at the Dispatch Box for two years running because, unlike the previous Administration, we have not been reshuffled every two minutes. I must say that I have just read out a long list of things councils could do, from stopping purchasing fraud and duplicated payments to improving bulk buying and joint working. Councils have begun to do that, and to do it well, and we have seen some impressive results over the past year.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

On the subject of purchasing orders, does my right hon. Friend agree that Hertfordshire county council could look at not going forward with the PFI scheme that might see a large incinerator landed on the border between his constituency and mine, as they are very poor value for money?

[Grant Shapps]

I am extraordinarily grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that sensitive local issue, which she will understand I cannot comment on as a Minister with responsibility for planning. It is true that councils that have used procurement wisely, for example through online procurement, competitive working, ensuring that they follow through on getting a purchase order, which is pretty basic, and paying only when they can prove that the goods have been delivered, have saved millions of pounds.

Housing Reform

Debate between Grant Shapps and Anne Main

Monday 21st November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point. There have been issues for leaseholders, and I spend much time considering that and working with them. Each of us tends to characterise what we think is left of the social housing stock—by the way, there are 4 million social homes, nearly 1.8 million of which are in the council and ALMO sector—and to think that the homes that we know are representative of them all. In my constituency, by and large we have street houses rather than tower blocks. Around the country there remains great diversity in the sorts of homes available, and I am sure that the renewed right to buy will be really popular.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

I welcome much in my right hon. Friend’s statement, but I have concerns about how the indemnity scheme will work. In an area such as St Albans, which is ringed by green belt, which does not have shovel-ready sites but which does have high house prices, what hope can he give to constituents of mine who would like to access the starter homes that are old period houses? We will not build loads of brand-new starter homes in an area such as St Albans.

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend and I share a boundary between St Albans and Hatfield. That area used to be an aerospace site and is now available for quite a lot of house building, but that aside—I make no apology for this—we consider it important that we focus our efforts on building new homes. Every home built supports two jobs, which is important for employment and gross domestic product growth. We are therefore focusing on new homes, not just for first-time buyers but for anybody who wants to buy a new home.