Economy: House Prices

Lord Newby Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wood of Anfield]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increases in house prices on the strength of the United Kingdom economy.

[Lord Newby (LD)]

My Lords, the housing market is recovering alongside the rest of the economy. As in previous recoveries, house prices have risen but, with the exception of London, remain below their pre-crisis peak in real terms. As a result of increased confidence in the housing market, planning approvals and housing starts are now at their highest for six years. With the creation of the Financial Policy Committee we now have the tools to guard against risks in the housing market.

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

My Lords, the list of those expressing serious concern about the impact of the UK housing market now includes the IMF, the European Commission, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Bank of England, Vince Cable, the Deputy Prime Minister and the entire economics profession. However, in a week where new figures showed house prices in the UK rising by 10% and by nearly three times that figure in London, a leaked document from the Department for Communities and Local Government showed that the Government are, astonishingly, expecting new housing starts to fall by 4% this year. Can the Minister explain why government housing policy seems to be based on a mixture of denial, bad economics and passing of the buck? What is their plan to do something about the UK’s chronic shortage of housing?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I remind the noble Lord that in Q1 2009 there were 17,000 housing starts and in Q1 2014 there were 36,000. There has been a major crash in the housebuilding sector. This is now being corrected with housing starts and planning permissions being significantly greater—typically around 30% more—than a year ago. I also remind the noble Lord that while we have had a rapidly rising population in the UK, for decades housing starts have been 200,000 fewer than in France, for example, where the population has not been rising in the same way. There is a chronic problem in housing. We are beginning to tackle it by programmes that support people buying their own home, liberalising planning and providing support for small to medium-sized housebuilders. This is not going to be an easy fix for a Government of any colour.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby (Con)]

My Lords, while it is certainly very desirable that more houses are built in this country, does my noble friend not agree that the real problem is still the unmet need to streamline and speed up the planning process? Would it not be a good idea if all sides of the House would put pressure on this?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, there is clearly a challenge in terms of planning. Wherever one seeks to gain significant planning permissions there tends to be very vigorous local opposition. One of the ways we are hoping and planning to tackle this is by supporting a new generation of new towns. The first one in Ebbsfleet is now under way. That is one way of getting a number of bulk areas of new housebuilding. However, all parties are going to need to be much more robust in making the case for a higher level of new housebuilding than we have seen for several decades.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell the House how many planning applications for housing have been approved but the houses have not been built?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, there is always a lag between planning permissions and housing starts. If we take the last two quarters for which I have figures, there were planning permissions for 52,534 houses in Q4 2013 and 32,000 starts. In Q1 2014 there were 43,000 permissions and 36,000 starts.

[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

Does the Minister think that anything should be done about the special position of London?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, clearly London is in a special position. The population of London rose, I believe, by 108,000 in the past year and this is going to require a significantly higher level of housebuilding. The mayor has plans to build 40,000 new homes a year in London—bearing in mind that in 2009 there were 14,000 new homes built in London. With the population increasing very rapidly there is clearly going to be a long period of stress in terms of housing in London.

[Baroness Maddock (LD)]

My Lords, the economy of the north-east is not growing at anything like the rate that it is in London. Is there not an argument for putting some of the stamp duty, much of it generated by the 26% increase in house prices in London, towards growth and infrastructure projects in the north-east?

[Lord Newby]

The Government have a comprehensive infrastructure plan, which includes a number of major new initiatives in the north-east of England. As the noble Baroness will know, over the years the Treasury has been very much opposed to hypothecating particular taxes for specific purposes, largely on the basis that they may be buoyant one year but may not be in another. Leaving aside stamp duty, the key point is that we have a comprehensive infrastructure programme in the north-east, and I believe that we have one for the next decade.

[Lord Davies of Oldham (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware of the town of Altrincham in the north-west? The Chancellor certainly is because it is close to his constituency. Altrincham is one of the most prosperous towns in the north-west. Is the Minister aware that house prices in Altringham are half those in three inner London boroughs—not Kensington and Chelsea but Hackney, Southwark and Lambeth? Does that not show how chronic the situation in London is?

[Lord Newby]

Yes it does, my Lords.

[The Countess of Mar (CB)]

My Lords, is there a sufficiently skilled workforce in the building trade after the doldrums that it has been in for such a long time? Are there enough people who have all the skills required to build houses? Has the Minister considered the modern prefabricated buildings that I understand can be put up within a week, in order to speed up housebuilding?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, there are reports just today about skills shortages and rising wages in the construction sector. With the number of housing starts having increased so rapidly, you would expect that to be the case. Incidentally, when one talks about the free movement of labour within the EU, it is worth remembering that were it not for highly skilled technicians from other parts of the EU, the position regarding employment within the construction sector and shortages would be much worse. As the noble Baroness may know, we are investing an awful lot in apprentices and apprenticeships. In the medium term, that will be crucial in order to get to a new and higher level of building, but it takes quite a time to train someone to be, for example, a highly qualified electrician.