Right to Buy

Robin Walker Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I have to say that the right hon. Gentleman’s opening remarks, when linked to his closing remarks, sum up where we are. I am disappointed that he seems to want to stop people having the right to own their own home. We will absolutely support people in that right. He talks about the written ministerial statement, but this happened because we have been very busy getting on with the business of delivering homes for people and the right to buy, rather than spending time talking about reports and process.

A few weeks ago, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I spent a couple of days at the National Housing Federation conference talking to housing association members and their representatives. I am not sure whether the right hon. Gentleman was there—we did not see him—but we spent our time talking to the sector, and this is a deal from the sector. The housing associations now want to help their tenants into homeownership, and I applaud them for that. I think that they have done an excellent job in working to deliver a new model that presents a new opportunity to people throughout our country. Opposition Members seem determined to end that opportunity, and, indeed, the Labour party in Wales has stopped people having that aspiration.

This is a deal for the entire sector, as the sector itself has made clear. I am disappointed that the right hon. Gentleman has presupposed its stance by saying that it will oppose the deal. That puts him in an almost unique position. The tenants want the chance to buy, and the housing associations proposed the deal. It is disappointing that the right hon. Gentleman has set himself against them by opposing their deal, which we have accepted after the work that they have put in.

I am sure that, if the right hon. Gentleman looks at the way in which we are providing homes and the way in which the deal will work for people throughout the country, he will recognise that the new portability arrangements will, for the first time ever, give those living in sheltered or extremely rural accommodation who—even under the current scheme—have no right to buy their own homes a chance to do so. I am proud that we are able to deliver on the aspiration and that manifesto promise.

I noted the right hon. Gentleman’s points about the number of homes being built, which Labour Members have raised many times. Eventually, they will come to acknowledge that, in 13 years of Labour government, 170 homes were sold for every one that was built. We have announced that, under the reinvigorated scheme, it will be “one for one”: for every home that is sold, an extra home will be built.

Let me make the facts clear. In year one of the scheme, 3,054 homes were built. In the equivalent year, three years on—councils have three years in which to build—3,644 homes have been built. That is more than one extra home for every one that is sold. If councils do not build a home in time, we in the Government will take the money from them, and we will make sure that those homes are built as outlined in the scheme. The building of that one extra home will drive up housing supply.

I am disappointed that the right hon. Gentleman has not been joined by the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett), but I am delighted that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is able to join me to state very clearly to the House that we will support people’s desire and aspiration to own their homes. We will deliver the right to buy to those 1.3 million tenants. I thank the housing associations for the work that they have done, and for their willingness to stand up and deliver for their tenants and the tenants of the future. This is the most powerful form of social mobility that we can deliver, and I am proud to be able to be a small part of that.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

Perhaps I should declare a family interest, as my late father was one of the authors of the original right to buy policy.

[Mr Speaker]

That is why I called the hon. Gentleman first.

[Mr Walker]

You are very kind, Mr Speaker.

I congratulate the Minister on his statement. Having raised the concerns of my constituents in housing association properties, I am delighted that this voluntary deal has been reached.

The Minister may be interested to know that Sanctuary Housing, which is the largest registered social landlord in the country and whose headquarters are in my constituency, has said not only that it thinks that the deal can be delivered with one-for-one replacement, but that it believes it can increase the supply of affordable housing over the next five years at almost twice the rate that it has been able to deliver over the last five years.

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend has made some very good points, particularly the point about his father. That scheme enabled so many millions of families to own their own homes, and I think everyone who has been involved in it should be very proud of that.

Over the last few months and especially over the last few weeks, at the National Housing Federation conference and since, we have been talking to housing associations which clearly want to use this deal to make their assets work and to build more homes. We must remember that it will drive up housing supply.