Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking to increase the building of affordable homes.

[Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What steps he is taking to increase the building of affordable homes.

[The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

Almost 200,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2010. A further £23 billion of investment will deliver 165,000 affordable homes between 2015 and 2018. This will be the fastest rate of affordable house building for the past 20 years.

[Mike Kane]

As someone born and raised in an affordable home, I know the value of such homes. I also know that not enough units are coming on stream in my constituency at the moment. This Government have presided over the lowest build of new affordable homes in peacetime since the 1920s. Does the Minister regret slashing the budget by 60% on coming into government?

[Brandon Lewis]

I respectfully point out to the hon. Gentleman that we actually inherited the lowest level of house building since the 1920s from the previous Government. In fact, as I have just said, we are about to get the fastest rate of building in the past 20 years. Just to be specific, in his home area of Greater Manchester alone, 5,724 new affordable homes will be delivered as a result of this Government’s investment in this period’s affordable homes programme.