Housing: Market Stability

Lord Alton of Liverpool Excerpts

Monday 23rd May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I am not aware at the moment of the Government having any intention of causing land auctions or doing what else the noble Lord describes. Under the Localism Bill, of course, we are preparing for neighbourhood plans, which will identify land that is available, and we will also look to the community right to challenge to identify and challenge land that is available for development. The Government are moving along the lines of trying to ensure that land is freed up and are also looking at public land to ensure that, if it is available, it can be used for housing.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool]

When the noble Baroness looks at the strategy that she says will be published in the autumn, will she particularly look at the role that housing co-operatives, self-build and empty housing can play in this strategy? Does she agree that—especially as regards empty properties in northern towns and cities where far too many such properties often blight whole communities as they become tinder-boxes and breeding grounds for vermin—these properties need to be put back into use for people on housing waiting lists?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I wholly agree with what the noble Lord has said. It is a sad fact that there are many empty properties which can or should be brought back into use. We have already allocated money to this and within the new homes money we will identify such empty properties. For that, £100 million is already available. It is not occurring just in the north but across the country. We are anxious too to make sure that homes are brought up a decent standard. In areas—particularly in the north, I guess—where traditionally a lot of houses have been left empty, it is perfectly right that those are brought back into use rather than just demolished or left.