Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Helen Jones and Kris Hopkins

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Kris Hopkins]

If the right hon. Gentleman wants to write to me about the specific individual concerned, I will attempt to address that case, but I reassure the House that we take seriously the need to deliver affordable housing. That is why the Government have clearly laid out that our principal priority in house building is supporting the affordable sector. Indeed, 170,000 new houses will be delivered by 2015, and we will soon announce a prospectus that will deliver 160,000 new homes by 2018. That is our commitment to people such as the one he mentioned.

[Helen Jones (Warrington North) (Lab)]

The Minister and his colleagues have frequently told those who are in receipt of housing benefit and subject to the bedroom tax that they should downsize, yet for many people that means moving into the private sector, which either will not take them or, if it does, charges more rent, so costing the public purse more. Is it not time that the Government abandoned this totally ill-conceived policy?

[Kris Hopkins]

There are more than 1 million one-bedroom flats on the market at the moment, and the Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that there are more houses out there. Every single penny that we are spending on housing is intended specifically to address that need, to ensure that vulnerable individuals are supported, with £470 million for the homeless and £445 million for transition through welfare reform. We have had to make those difficult decisions because the previous Labour Government failed to do so.