Lord Hamilton of Epsom
Main Page: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Hamilton of Epsom's debates with the Cabinet Office
(5 years, 1 month ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I refer to my interests in the register. The Ministry of Defence is one of the main landowners in this country, and some of its land gets sold off for development. If it is sold below market price, the Ministry of Defence is effectively subsidising low-cost housing across the country. Is it right for that to happen?
The Ministry of Defence had a target of disposing of land in 2015 that would provide 55,000 homes. In my initial reply, I said that the Government could take into account the wider social costs and benefits and the public interest. That is a good reason for not going through the whole process of putting the land on the open market and trying to get the best price but instead trying to do a quick deal that provides affordable homes, which may be more broadly in the public interest than the process initially followed.