Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what target he has set for the number of starter homes to be built in the 2017 Parliament.
We are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, and our plans for starter homes. Since Spring 2010 Government-backed schemes have helped over 460,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced a stamp duty exemption for most first-time buyers.
The definition of a starter home is currently being finalised as part of the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework which we are consulting on. The consultation ends on 10 May and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-revised-national-planning-policy-framework
Following this, we expect to make an announcement on the next steps for starter homes.