Under-Occupancy Penalty
Debate between Kris Hopkins and Iain McKenzie(11 years, 1 month ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Kris Hopkins
What I will say is that, in my early days in this post, I assure the hon. Lady that if I can learn anything about building more houses, because that is really important to the economy of our country, I shall inquire—
Kris Hopkins
No, I will not give way. In fact, I will give way in a second or two, but not just at the moment.
I reiterate that we recognise that this is about reducing the burden on the Government and the amount of debt that we have in place. It is important that we do that. We cannot continue to subsidise a million spare rooms. It is important that people out there—the taxpayers out there—understand that everybody is absolutely making a contribution to this process.
I feel extremely uncomfortable that people are turning around and saying that this is an uncaring and—[Interruption.] What I can say is that I know my commitment to addressing the number of houses that we have out there and to ensuring people out there have access to affordable housing.