The previous Labour Government left this country with a housing crisis. In 2010, housebuilding had reached its lowest level since the 1920's, the number of homes available for social rent had decreased by 420,000 and the number of people on social housing waiting lists had increased from 1 million to 1.8 million. Since then, over 700,000 homes have been delivered since 2010, including over 270,000 affordable homes. I understand that still more can be done and I believe that the Housing and Planning Bill will help us achieve this.
The Bill will increase the pace of housebuilding through planning permission in principle and the brownfield registers. The Starter Homes programme will see thousands of homes built specifically for first time buyers at a price that they can afford and the requirement to introduce local plans will also ensure that local people have a say on where development takes place in their area. As part of the Housing Minister’s recent announcement, Bath will be receiving £313,000 of Government funding to help kick start thousands of new homes in the city, something which I highlighted in Prime Minister’s Questions last week, and something which the Prime Minister himself welcomed.
You can read my speech below:
‘I have kept the House up to date with my struggles to get on the property ladder as a 29-year-old. Just before the Christmas recess, I managed to get on the property ladder with my partner after a struggle of about 10 years. I listened to the speech of the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan) on the lack of house building under this Government, but I have been struggling to get on the property ladder for the past 10 years, like thousands of young professionals around the country, and I am afraid that he was a member of a Government who built far fewer houses than we are building today.
‘Thousands of my constituents in Bath, which is one of the least affordable cities in the UK, are also struggling to get on the property ladder, so I empathise with them. Put simply, we need to build more houses than we have done previously. It will not surprise anyone who has visited Bath that it is one of the top 10 most expensive places to live, taking into account local earnings ratios. In Lloyds bank’s latest affordability review, Bath is ranked above Greater London as the sixth most expensive place to live in the UK. That means that for many people in Bath, buying a home will remain only an aspiration for a very long time.
‘Furthermore, it will not surprise the Minister to hear that my constituents fear that the much-needed rail electrification of Brunel’s Great Western main line, which is under way thanks to this Government’s investment and which will improve train journey times into London, will make the cost of buying a home increasingly unaffordable, forcing Bath residents to wait even longer before they can make the first step on to the property ladder.
‘Proposed new subsection (4) of clause 72 in amendment 112 shows that the Government are committed to increasing the number of affordable homes in London, where Generation Rent seems to have taken hold. Such changes prove that this is the party of opportunity that will help everyone to reach important life goals such as buying their own home. I welcome the announcement that the Government will ensure that in London, two affordable homes will be built for every high-value unit that is sold in the city. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) on championing that proposal. Having worked with him in the past, I am certain that he will make a superb Mayor of London.
‘I welcome the assurance that the Government will look at replicating the proposal in other high-price areas such as Bath, St Albans, which we have heard about today, and Oxford using proposed new subsection (6) in amendment 112.
‘Development is under way on brownfield sites in Bath such as the Foxhill development, which recently received an extra £313,000 of Homes and Communities Agency funding. That will help to build more homes on brownfield sites. I am pleased to see that the Government are committed to building more affordable homes in London and other expensive areas. I desperately look forward to working with the Minister, as do other colleagues, on rolling out amendment 112 to other high- cost areas.’
Brandon Lewis, Minister for Housing, spoke about how he is looking forward to working with Ben, and other Members who represent high cost areas, to introduce similar plans as proposed for London.