§ 5. Mr. SkinnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest annual figures for house building; and what was the figure in 1978. [29774]
§ The Minister for Construction, Planning and Energy Efficiency (Mr. Robert B. Jones)A total of 188,700 new homes were completed in Great Britain in 1995. There were 279,800 completions in 1978.
§ Mr. SkinnerAfter 17 years of Tory Government, is it not a fact that 67,000 local authority homes were completed in 1978—the last full year of a Labour Government—and that in 1995 the number is down to a miserable 612 for the whole of the country? We have 500,000 bricklayers and construction workers on the dole. We have bricks piled up at the London Brick Company. Construction companies are going to the wall. Is it not time that the Government pulled their finger out and did something about releasing capital receipts? Do not blame the minimum wage and the social chapter for this disaster.
§ Mr. JonesThe hon. Gentleman is confusing two issues. We are trying to ensure that we make the most effective use of existing stock. Therefore, what is important is the number of tenancies, not the number of new buildings. A large number of schemes are in place to create extra vacancies into which people can move, to ensure that we effectively manage existing stock.
§ Lady Olga MaitlandDoes my hon. Friend agree that there has never been a better time for first-time buyers to buy their homes? More than that, they have the incentive of mortgage rates, which are at their lowest level for 30 years. Is that not a justification of the Government's policies? They are a success and people are going with it.
§ Mr. JonesOf course my hon. Friend is right. Not only are mortgage rates low at the moment by historical standards, but they are also affordable, because of the rise in real incomes and the fall in mortgage rates; so now is a good time not just for first-time buyers but for other buyers to put their hat into the ring and buy a house.