Julian Huppert
Main Page: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)(12 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)
2. What plans he has to return empty homes to use.
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)
6. What plans he has to return empty homes to use.
Andrew Stunell
I certainly agree with my hon. Friend that it is a scandal that there are so many empty homes, especially if they are empty for more than six months. The total at the moment is 270,000 across the country, but the good news is that that is a reduction of 21,000 in the last year. It is important to tackle the problem and that is why we have committed £150 million to bringing empty homes back into use. I am sure that his friends in Colchester will want to take advantage of that.
Dr Huppert
Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating councillors Sian Reid and Catherine Smart of Cambridge city council on their work to reduce the number of empty homes in Cambridge since 2004? The Government’s £150 million empty homes fund is welcome. How can Cambridge city council access it in order to get even more empty homes back into use?
Andrew Stunell
Local authority bids will be invited shortly for the £100 million that we have announced for providing affordable housing, and I hope that Cambridge will be right there. We are currently drawing up the criteria for the £50 million to tackle the worst concentration of empty homes. I also know that several community and voluntary groups in the east of England have their eyes on Cambridge.