John Pugh
Main Page: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Mr Pickles
I know the right hon. Gentleman is new to the job, but he is very distinguished and should at least have done his homework. He knows perfectly well that that is certainly not the case. We are having very constructive discussions with Sport England about planning policy, and those protections will be there.
John Pugh (Southport) (LD)
T2. What are the Government doing about empty homes and, in particular, homes above shops as a way of easing pressure on the green belt?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Andrew Stunell)
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We now have some 700,000 empty homes, of which over 300,000 have been empty for more than six months, and it remains a key priority of this Government to bring them back into use so that some of the 1.7 million families on council house waiting lists and the many more who would like to purchase their homes can do so.