Sir Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove) (LD): What fiscal steps
the Government are taking to encourage the building of social housing.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander): I
pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for his contribution on the housing issue
while a Minister in the CLG,
particularly on helping to ensure that the £4.5 billion affordable homes
programme is on track to deliver 170,000 new affordable homes by March
2015—100,000 are completed so far—and to fund an extra 165,000 houses over
three years from 2015.
Sir Andrew Stunell: That is a remarkable contrast with
Labour’s disgraceful approach, which got rid of those houses. Will my right
hon. Friend assure me that highly successful arm’s length management
organisations, such as Stockport Homes, which just opened the 4 millionth
social home in the housing stock, will have an opportunity, under the
Chancellor’s proposals, to build more social housing to meet the urgent need of
my constituents?
Danny Alexander: My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and
I congratulate Stockport Homes on its success—I think it was recently voted one
of the best landlords in the country. The 4 millionth social home was part of
the Government’s commitment to reverse the trend under Labour, where the social
housing stock in this country fell by 421,000. Over the term of our housing
plan, we will build at least 315,000 new social homes, and he will also have
noted that in the autumn statement we announced an increase of £300 million in
headroom under the housing revenue account precisely to allow local authorities
to build more social homes in this country.
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