Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the overall effect of changes to housing legislation and housing-related benefits which have come into force since 2010.

Government interventions are reinvigorating the housing market. The number of new homes delivered last year was up by 25 per cent on the previous year, the highest year on year rise for 28 years. Completions are up and housing starts at their highest annual level since 2007, with more than 277,000 affordable homes delivered since April 2010 .

We have announced a doubling of the housing budget to more than £20 billion over the next five years to support the largest housing programme by any Government since the 1970’s

Between 2000/01 and 2012/13, the Housing Benefit bill more than doubled to £24 billion and the cost to the taxpayer increased 50%.