Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts
Tuesday 24th June 2014

(10 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom
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My hon. Friend, who represents Erewash so well, is absolutely right. Aspiring to one’s first new home is something that we all wish for, for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. This Government are determined to do something about that while ensuring that we do not do anything that would enable an unsustainable housing boom.

Mark Lazarowicz Portrait Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)
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15. One of the features of the UK housing market is that millions of houses are inefficient in their use of energy, and even much new housing is not as energy-efficient as it ought to be. The Help to Buy scheme could have been used as a way of providing a massive boost to more energy-efficient UK housing stock, but that opportunity has so far been lost. What will the Government do to remedy this deficiency?

Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom
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The hon. Gentleman is right that house builders should be seizing the opportunity to make homes as energy-efficient as possible. That does not, however, detract from the very important point that the Help to Buy scheme was started to try to regenerate growth in the housing market, and that is an achievement that all Members should be proud of.