Oral Answers to Questions

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

14. What assessment he has made of the effect of the right-to-buy scheme on the availability of low-cost housing for people on low incomes.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (SNP)]

16. What assessment he has made of the effect of the right-to-buy scheme on the availability of low-cost housing for people on low incomes.

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

Within England, a new affordable home has been provided for every additional right-to-buy sale since 2012 under a reinvigorated scheme. Under the groundbreaking voluntary agreement, housing associations will also deliver an additional home nationally for every home sold.

[Brandon Lewis]

Abolishing the policy would actually reduce supply. We are extending it to 1.3 million more people, and, as I outlined, because a new home is being built for every home sold, it will, by definition, increase the supply of affordable homes.

[Margaret Ferrier]

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has highlighted the fact that the Scottish Government spends 85% more per head on social housing than England and Wales. Unlike the UK Government, the SNP Government are hitting their targets for affordable homes. Does the Minister acknowledge the abject failure of the UK Government’s policies to increase the affordable housing supply?

[Brandon Lewis]

I am proud that the Conservative-led Government in the last Parliament were the first to finish a Parliament with more affordable homes than they started with. We lost 420,000 under the Labour Government, who sold 170 homes for every one they built. That is why the one-for-one provision increases housing supply. We went ahead of our target in the last Parliament and we now have the largest building programme since the 1970s. That is something for us to be very proud of.