Hansard - United Kingdom Parliament

7 Oral Answers
20 JUNE 2011
Oral Answers
8
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab): The
Minister will be aware that some Labour Members are
rather sceptical about whether the New Homes Bonus
will deliver more homes than were being built before the
recession. Given that no research is being done into the
effectiveness of the scheme, and that there is no evidence
about such schemes in other countries, does he agree
that it would be appropriate to have an independent
review of the scheme’s effectiveness? If so, what period
of time should the review cover?
Grant Shapps: The Chairman of the Select Committee
is wrong to say that no research has been done into the
scheme. Indeed, the impact assessment stated that it
would increase house building starts and, as I have just
said, there has been a 22% increase in house building
starts in the first year of the policy. Let us compare that
with the year before the policy was put in place, when
house building under Labour was at its lowest level
since the 1920s. There is therefore growing evidence that
the New Homes Bonus is working rather well.
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab): I make
my usual declaration of an indirect interest.
The New Homes Bonus is paying out taxpayers’
money but it is not delivering. Planning permissions fell
by 17% on year for the first quarter. Let us not confuse
that with starts, which took place as a result of investment
by the previous Labour Government. The Town and
Country Planning Association, the Campaign to Protect
Rural England and the Royal Town Planning Institute
are clear that the changes in the Localism Bill will
enable developers to buy planning permissions. Are
those professionals wrong?
Grant Shapps: The idea that one quarter can be
judged against an entire year’s evidence is, of course,
nonsense. The evidence for the entire year is that house
starts are up by 22%. I would rather take a year’s figures
than one quarter’s. We know that councils right across
the country, including Labour councils, are welcoming
the New Homes Bonus money, which is now starting to
make a real difference. Yes, it is right for local authorities
and local people to take fully into account the economic
benefits of building more homes in their areas.
Fraudulent Claims (Local Authority Funding)
6. Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con):
What steps he is taking to reduce the level of
fraudulent claims for funding awarded by local
authorities. [60278]
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government (Mr Eric Pickles): Last month, in conjunction
with the National Fraud Authority, I published a 10-point
plan outlining how councils can save £2 billion a year
from tackling fraud. Whether it be through dealing with
tenancy cheats or organised crimes, this is a key way to
save taxpayers’ money and protect front-line services.
Mr Raab: I thank the Secretary of State for that
answer. Will he join me in recognising the lead taken by
Elmbridge borough council, which over the last year
alone recovered £72,000 of overpaid benefit and is
using data checks to crack down on the abuse of the
single person council tax discount, cutting out waste
and fraud and saving taxpayers’ money?
Mr Pickles: I will indeed join my hon. Friend in
congratulating his council. As I said in my original
answer, this is quite a big deal, amounting to £2 billion a
year. I think it was Cheshire East council that managed
to save £500,000 a year on the single person discount.
We are not talking about trivial amounts here; we are
talking about something that will make a big difference.
Home Ownership
7. Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con): What steps his
Department is taking to support home ownership.
[60279]
14. Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con): What
steps his Department is taking to support home
ownership. [60287]
The Minister for Housing and Local Government (Grant
Shapps): I can announce today that, subject to contracts,
more than 100 developers will offer the equity loan
product “Firstbuy” and I can also say that this will
build more than 10,000-odd homes as we initially
anticipated—something like 10,500 in England—and
bring up to £500 million worth of investment across
the UK.
Robert Halfon: Is my hon. Friend aware that, under
the last Government, the waiting list in Harlow quadrupled?
Does he accept that one of the best ways to break the
poverty trap is to help families into shared equity schemes
to give them a foot on the property ladder?
Grant Shapps: My hon. Friend is absolutely right.
The waiting list doubled across the country, but in
Harlow it quadrupled during the period of the previous
Government. That is not good enough; we must build
more homes to get ourselves out of that trouble. In
addition, we need innovative products that share equity.
I know that my hon. Friend is a keen supporter of that
and I am sure it will help in his area as indeed it will in
the areas of all Members across the country.
Nadine Dorries: Many residents in Mid Bedfordshire
who are living in social and council housing would love
to have the opportunity to buy the home they live in.
We know that such policies introduce aspiration and
narrow the gap between rich and poor, enabling people
to get on to that property ladder. Does the Minister
have any plans to introduce schemes like right-to-buy
again so that residents in Mid Bedfordshire can have
some hope?
Grant Shapps: My hon. Friend is absolutely right to
talk about right-to-buy, which helped millions of people
achieve the aspiration of owning their own homes. This
Government fully support that objective. I think it is
right, however, to recycle that money into building
more homes. Under the affordable rent scheme that I
have recently introduced, that is precisely what will
happen: if people end up buying their home, more
homes will be built, which will help to lessen that record
social housing waiting list that we were disgracefully left
with after 13 years of Labour Government.
Mr Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab):
Does not the Minister recognise that, far from promoting
home ownership, his Government’s policies have led to
a stagnant market in which housing starts are collapsing