HC Deb 14 June 1972 vol 838 cc1483-4
6. Mr. Frank Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on what basis land will be priced if released for house building purposes under his recent proposals; and if he will consider its being purchased at its previous use value, for example, as agricultural land, in order to keep down house prices.

Mr. Graham Page

No, Sir. The price paid for land acquired by local authorities is based on market value. They have a duty to obtain the best price when they dispose of it unless particular circumstances justify disposal for less.

Mr. Allaun

That is the reply I expected. Does the Minister believe it is just for landowners to make fortunes simply because local authorities have provided the roads, the sewers, the lighting, the water and, above all, the permission to build houses on the land?

Mr. Page

If the land were purchased at less than market value no owner would sell without compulsion, and there would be one price for land privately acquired and another for public transactions.

Mr. Sydney Chapman

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to stabilise or bring down the price of land is by making enough land available for development purposes? The Government's purpose should be to see how this can be done without going against the planning policies of successive Governments. The only way to do this is by having an acre-by-acre survey of land use throughout the kingdom.

Mr. Page

I do not think we need go to that extent, but what my hon. Friend said is in fact the Government's policy.

Mr. John Silkin

First, I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on becoming a Member of the Privy Council and, secondly, commiserate with him on having to answer this question. Is the Minister aware that whereas under the Labour Government the price of land fell by 4 per cent., under this Government in two years it has risen by 53 per cent.? Does he therefore agree that a far more radical solution to the problem is necessary than that which he envisages?

Mr. Page

No. In the last year of the Labour Government land prices rose by 24 per cent. compared with 23 per cent. in 1971. My right hon. Friend put before the House a number of proposals which will set in motion a process for reducing the price of land by bringing forward a greater supply.