HL Deb 24 July 1990 vol 521 cc1318-20

2.54 p.m.

Lord Jay asked Her Majesty's Government:

On how many houses and flats to let has building started in the private sector this year, up to the latest date for which figures are available.

The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Hesketh)

My Lords, it is estimated that 6,200 new dwellings for letting were started by housing associations in Great Britain in the first five months of 1990. Furthermore, the extension of the business expansion scheme to give tax relief for investment in rented housing has resulted in £535 million being raised and this should provide some 9,500 extra homes to rent.

Lord Jay

My Lords, is that not a pathetically small figure as regards housing for letting being built by the private sector? It suggests that the Government's housing legislation and their whole policy of encouraging the private sector to provide low rental homes are likely to prove an almost total failure.

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, I am absolutely certain that if the Labour Party was willing to commit itself to the expansion of a sector in which we fall far behind Germany, France and the United States there would be a great increase in the number of such dwellings.

Lord Dean of Beswick

My Lords, is the Minister aware of a report which was published yesterday which shows that more than 8,000 families are now in bed and breakfast accommodation waiting for permanent homes, and another 12,000 are living in self-contained properties rented for a short time from private landlords? Is the Minister aware that those figures indicate a 24 per cent. increase in six months in the numbers of such families? Does he understand that unless there is a tremendous upturn in the provision of low cost rented properties those deplorable figures will continue to rise? Will the Government take note of that position and do more than they are doing at present to reduce those terrible figures?

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, the Government have already made a commitment in that area by the £250 million initiative for the South East which they announced recently and by the considerable increase in the money they provide for housing associations from £900 million to £1.7 billion.

Lord Jay

My Lords, why then are the Government preventing local authorities from building houses when clearly thousands of children are now being brought up in bed and breakfast so-called homes?

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, we view local authorities as the enablers rather than the providers. That is why we have greatly increased the sums of money which we are giving to housing associations to enable them to achieve the latter status.

Baroness David

My Lords, is the Minister aware that housing associations are not capable of performing as well as they would like because of the money that is being cut off this year? Even if they did all they could, it would still not be enough to satisfy the need for houses that now exists.

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, I must remind your Lordships' House that in previous replies on this subject I pointed out that housing associations are spending less this year because they spent more in the previous year. Therefore more money has been delivered to housing than was anticipated.

Lord Richard

My Lords, are the Government satisfied with those figures?

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, the Government's contribution is substantial and their commitment is also substantial.

Lord Richard

My Lords, are the Government satisfied with those figures?

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, I am absolutely certain that long after I have gone from this Dispatch Box no government will ever be satisfied.

Baroness David

My Lords, does the Minister agree that he is a little too self-satisfied about this matter?

Lord Hesketh

My Lords, I have had the honour to serve the Department of the Environment at this Dispatch Box since 6th February last year. I have never considered myself to be in any position to be self-satisfied.