Housing: Cost of Living Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Lord Sahota
Main Page: Lord Sahota (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Sahota's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(2 years ago)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
I think my noble friend understands that I cannot offer anything on behalf of the Chancellor next spring, but I can say that it is something that we need to discuss. I shall be taking this issue back to officials to discuss it fully before we get anywhere near the Spring Statement.
Lord Sahota (Lab)
My Lords, in 1980 some 30% of housing was available for rent as social housing; now that figure is down to 17%. Given that there are around 190,000 people on local authorities’ waiting lists for houses, what are the Government going to do about the acute shortage of social housing?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
The noble Lord is right that it is a challenge for this country and this Government to provide more affordable homes. That is why we have an £11.5 billion affordable homes programme, which will deliver tens of thousands of affordable homes right across the country. It is important that we are delivering that, and we will continue to do so.