Stephen Hammond
Main Page: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)
Greg Clark
The right hon. Gentleman’s record has gone down in history—he presided over the lowest number of housing starts since the 1920s. This is not just about a collapse in the total number of houses being built, but about affordable housing. During his time in the previous Government, the stock of affordable homes fell by 420,000. I have been doing my research about the right hon. Gentleman because he has form on this issue, and it is a cheek for him to talk about affordable housing. As he might remember, when he was Financial Secretary he published a report that stated that the Government’s No. 1 objective was:
“Freeing up or avoiding social tenancies.”
No wonder there was a collapse in the stock of affordable housing—he wanted to avoid those tenancies.
Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)
T3. Will my right hon. Friend confirm whether starter homes will be built only on exemption sites, or will new legislation allow them to be built more widely?
Greg Clark
As my hon. Friend will know, the Housing and Planning Bill will oblige local authorities building on all significant sites to include a contribution to starter homes, recognising that there are young people across the country who want to get a foot on the housing ladder.