Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for publishing the social housing green paper; and for what reasons that green paper was not published prior to the House rising for summer recess.

The Social Housing Green Paper was published on 14 August, with 12 weeks for consultation. While the Government was committed to publishing the Green Paper as soon as possible, it was important that we took the time to ensure that the proposed options did justice to the complex and challenging issues that we are seeking to remedy. As the Government continued to receive representations during recess asking to see the Green Paper issued without delay, it did not seem right to artificially hold up publication until Parliament returned.