Housing and Planning Bill

Lord Shipley Excerpts

Wednesday 4th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, first, I remind the House of my vice-presidency of the Local Government Association. I have listened very carefully to what has been said, but I think there is still a problem and want to support amendments proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake—Amendments 47B and 47C. I have read very carefully what the Government have said and noted their views, but the fact of the matter is that, as a consequence of the Bill, there will be a loss of around 180,000 social homes for rent. In addition, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously pointed out that the cut of 1% annually in rents for the next four years will lead to a failure to build some 14,000 social homes that otherwise could have been built and occupied.

The Bill should be addressing not just owner-occupation but how we house people who cannot afford to buy and who cannot afford market rents. That is why these amendments proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake, matter so much. As he explained, Amendment 47B enables a local housing authority, by agreement with the Secretary of State, to retain enough money to fund a new affordable home. The replacement one for one has already been agreed—two for one in London, but one for one outside—but the money has to be there to build the new affordable home.

I listened carefully to what the noble Lord, Lord Porter, said on the matter. He read out parts of the Conservative Party’s manifesto from the previous election, but the manifesto and the particular expression which accompanied it was extremely vague on the issue of replacement. It uses the terminology that there will be a replacement with “a normal affordable home” without ever defining what a normal affordable home is. As we know, in the Bill, the definition of an affordable home has been altered to include a starter home for sale, so in practice, government targets for building affordable homes can be delivered by owner-occupation through the starter home route, as opposed to building for social rent.

I am very keen to hear from the Minister what the Conservative Party meant at the previous election by a normal affordable home. Will she confirm that, in agreeing a one-for-one replacement outside London and two for one inside London, there will actually be the money for the local housing authority to fund that additional home?

That was Amendment 47B; there is also Amendment 47C, which enables a local housing authority, where it identifies a need for new social housing, to have the funding to build a new dwelling to let on terms similar to those on which the existing dwelling was let—in other words, like for like, not just one for one.

These are reasonable amendments. The housing crisis is getting worse, not better. Given that social housing can make a profit after about 20 years, more social homes could be built, thus reducing social inequality, child poverty and homelessness. For the Bill to address only owner-occupation remains a serious failing. It excludes so many people who may aspire to owner-occupation but can never achieve it. It will lead to a reduction in the social housing stock, to the detriment of all those on low incomes who will depend on social housing for rent for their homes.