Peter Aldous
Main Page: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)
Grant Shapps
I have certainly been shaken out of any sense of complacency by that question, given that it came from a member of a party under whose government we saw house building crash to its lowest level since the 1920s. I can report to the House this afternoon that in the past year alone house building starts in England went up by 25% compared with those in 2009.
Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)
9. What steps he is taking to promote the refurbishment of empty and vacant homes.
Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)
12. What plans he has to bring empty homes back into use.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Andrew Stunell)
Last week we announced £70 million of funding that will bring more than 5,600 homes back into use as affordable housing. That is part of our wider strategy for bringing empty homes back into use, which was set out in the Government’s housing strategy for England last autumn.
Peter Aldous
I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. The housing department of Waveney district council is doing great work with limited resources, working with the private sector to bring empty homes back into occupation. Will my hon. Friend meet the department and me to find out more about that scheme with a view to its being rolled out across the country?
Andrew Stunell
According to the reports from Waveney district council to the Department, it currently has 983 long-term empty homes, so it certainly has work to do. I would be delighted to meet council representatives in due course to see what they are doing. I encourage every local authority to take full advantage of the new homes bonus that is available for bringing empty homes back into use and of the funding streams of £70 million and a further £50 million that we have announced, details of which will be announced shortly.