Martin Horwood
Main Page: Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)
We do not scrap it because we need to save money right across government. One of the major problems of implementing this policy is the lack of house building—[Interruption.] I know that the hon. Lady is from the 2010 intake and that Labour Members of that intake like to think that 2010 is year zero, but during the 13 years when some of her colleagues were in power, not enough affordable housing was built. That is the problem.
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)
More green belt and green space is under threat in my constituency than ever before, and local people marched in protest yet again at the weekend. Will Ministers tell them why local councillors are being told to pay absolute attention to econometric models and unelected inspectors and not to local people?
Nick Boles
My hon. Friend knows that local authorities have to assess their housing needs and then work out how they are going to meet them. It is for local authorities to decide whether they can protect the green belt while nevertheless releasing some small portion of it to meet that housing need, but only after full consultation with local people.