§ 12. Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley)What steps his Department proposes to take to assist those local authorities with large numbers of empty private sector houses. [124000]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Chris Mullin)We are considering the recommendations of the empty property advisory group which are aimed at building on the steps that we have already taken to assist local authorities. In addition, from this year we are requiring all authorities to account to local people for their actions by publishing indicators of their performance in tackling empty privately owned homes.
§ Mr. PikeMy hon. Friend will know that Burnley has almost 3,000 empty private sector terraced houses, in addition to many private sector houses that need major renovation. Do the Government accept that it is a problem that Burnley and councils in a similar situation cannot solve alone? Government help is needed and people must work together.
§ Mr. MullinThe Government certainly accept that the problem cannot be solved by councils alone. Many other 786 parts of the north, including my constituency in Sunderland, have a similar problem. That is one of the reasons why we have set up the empty property advisory group, and we certainly recognise that help will be needed.
§ Mr. Don Foster (Bath)If tackling the scourge of empty homes is so important to the Government, why was no reference made to it in any of the 43 key recommendations in the housing policy paper? Will the Minister acknowledge that there are 750,000 empty homes in this country, and that a quarter of them are in London and the south-east? Would not it be better to start bringing those back into use before concreting over the green belt in the south-east?
As a way of making that happen, will the Minister join the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry), me and many other Members in a campaign to persuade the Chancellor of the Exchequer to change the crazy VAT arrangements whereby one pays full VAT on renovation to bring homes back into use and nothing on new build?
§ Mr. MullinThere have been recommendations on empty homes. Although the original question was about private housing, I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there is a serious problem of empty public housing in London. We are doing all that we can to encourage local authorities to deal with it. It is partly a question of resources, and over this Parliament, we are putting an extra £5 billion into housing. As the hon. Gentleman knows, VAT is a matter for the Chancellor, who will have heard the point made by the hon. Gentleman and many others.
§ Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale)Is my hon. Friend aware of the large number of Victorian properties which were formerly used as hotel accommodation that lie empty in seaside resorts? Many are sold cheaply at auction—a 10-bedroomed property in Morecambe sold for £4,000—and are bought by unscrupulous absentee landlords who provide poor housing in the rented sector. That problem faces all British seaside resorts, especially Morecambe, and I am interested in the Minister's plans to deal with it.
§ Mr. MullinUnscrupulous absentee landlords are not a problem only in seaside resorts. Sunderland has exactly the same problem; I hesitate to class it as a seaside resort, although it is on the sea. It is one of the reasons why we will introduce licensing for houses in multiple occupation. We have some other measures in mind. We recognise that it is a serious problem.
§ Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)It is important in these considerations to make a clear distinction between so-called management vacants—those houses that are ready to be re-let shortly—and the total number of vacants. Will the Minister confirm two things: first, that the five authorities with the highest number of vacants and the highest number of management vacants are all controlled by the Labour party? Secondly, will he explain why 7.5 per cent.—I believe that that is the figure—of 787 management vacants in the Deputy Prime Minister's local authority of Kingston upon Hull are ready to be let tomorrow, but, for some reason or other, are not being let?
§ Mr. MullinOne of the reasons is that, in the north of England, which is generally controlled by Labour authorities, there tends not to be the same demand for housing, public or private, as there is in the south.
§ Mr. MullinIt is a fact, whether the hon. Gentleman agrees or not. There is no point in him shaking his Wiltshire head. It is one of the facts of life, with which anyone in government must grapple. Who knows, one day he and his colleagues may be faced with the same problem. There is a massive surplus of demand in the south and insufficient demand in the north. Of course that gives rise to vacancies. We are anxious that those vacancies be properly managed and we are taking steps to do so.
§ Mr. Hilary Benn (Leeds, Central)Does my hon. Friend agree that, in certain circumstances where there are many empty properties, comprehensive redevelopment of an area is the best solution? If so, does he share my concern at the recent ruling of the European Commission, which has declared that gap funding is outwith state aid rules? Is he aware that that ruling is threatening many housing and other redevelopment schemes on brownfield sites, including the proposed Holbeck urban village in my constituency?
§ Mr. MullinI am aware of the European Union ruling; we are looking at it. I agree with my hon. Friend that sometimes the best solution is wholesale redevelopment. That is happening in some parts of the country, including, as he says, in his constituency.