Council House Building (Hansard, 23 March 1983)

§ 7. Mr. Gwilym Roberts
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures available for the number of council house building starts; and how these compare with the corresponding figures for 1978.

§ 23. Mr. Skinner
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the public sector house building starts for 1982 and 1983 to the most recent practicable date.

§ Mr. Stanley
There were 93,000 public sector starts in England in 1978 compared with 44,000 last year, of which 28,000 were for local councils. The provisional estimates for January 1983 are 4,000 public sector starts, 3,000 of them for local councils.

§ Mr. Roberts
Does the Minister accept that, while hon. Members on both sides of the House welcome home ownership, there are millions of people for whom it is never conceivable, in any circumstances, that they could become home owners? Is it not clear from the Minister's figures that he has destroyed all hope for hundreds of thousands of such people who are on council house waiting lists?

§ Mr. Stanley
I do not agree, although I recognise that there are those who will not be able to afford to buy. That is why we have been increasing the provision for local authorities over the past two years. If the hon. Gentleman wishes to contribute towards making additional rented accommodation available in his authority, I hope that he will start prevailing on Cannock Chase council to make greater use of its allocation plus receipts, because three quarters of the way through this financial year it had spent only 24 per cent. of its allocation plus receipts.

§ Mr. Roberts
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. It is clear that the Minister is not aware that the Tories and the Liberals have now taken control of the Cannock Chase district council.

§ Mr. Skinner
Are not the real reasons that these figures are the lowest since the 1920s that the Tories have cut the housing subsidies and grants by half, that rents have risen by more than 125 per cent., and that 400,000 building 851 workers are on the dole? Is the Minister aware that during this week the Labour party has produced a document that lays out plans for jobs for the construction workers, a use for those millions of bricks lying unused, a freeze on rents, and homes for those who badly need them?

§ Mr. Stanley
I assure the hon. Member for Cannock (Mr. Roberts) that I am fully aware that the Liberals are the biggest single party on the Cannock Chase council, because I saw the council about the poor performance on the right to buy under Labour control a few months ago.
I have seen the document to which the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) refers. I say to him what I said to the hon. Member for Cannock. If he is really exercised about increased jobs in the construction industry and increased housing provision, I hope that he will turn to the Bolsover council—which I am well aware is Labour controlled—as three quarters of the way through the financial year it had spent only 43 per cent. of its allocation plus receipts.

§ Mr. Roberts
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. The Minister remains inaccurate—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman is wasting the time of the House.

§ Mr. Heddle
Does my hon. Friend agree that the best possible way for councils to reduce their housing lists is to make sure that they do not leave houses lying empty for months, and sometimes years on end, by encouraging their tenants to take advantage of the tenants charter to sublet, and to convince others to do as the former agent of the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) did and buy their homes so that the councils can reinvest the capital receipts in building new homes to rent?

§ Mr. Stanley
My hon. Friend is right. It is a matter of considerable concern that all local authorities should make the best use of existing council housing stock. When about 20,000 local authority dwellings are vacant for more than a year, and 300,000 local authority dwellings are difficult to let, local authorities should be concentrating on making proper use of existing housing stock.

§ Mrs. Ann Taylor
Will the Minister acknowledge that Labour authorities in particular are likely to spend their full allocation of HIP money by the end of this financial year and that he cannot draw conclusions on three or six months' spending? Will he acknowledge that even if the HIP allocations are fully spent the number of council houses started in the best two years under the Tory Government will be less than in any one year under a Labour Government?

§ Mr. Stanley
I do not agree that all Labour authorities will spend their HIP allocation. If the hon. Lady will look at the table that I put in the Library for expenditure over the first three quarters of this financial year she will see that many authorities, of all political persuasions, look like not merely not spending their allocations plus receipts, but not even spending their allocations.
As to general progress, the hon. Lady should look at the complete picture for housing. It shows that in the past year public sector housing starts have increased by 39 per cent., that private sector starts increased by 20 per cent. for the second year running, that public sector home improvements rose by 26 per cent. and that private sector home 852 improvements are at their highest since 1974. The hon. Lady should be congratulating the Government on their performance on housing.