Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, has questioned Ministers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on getting young people on the housing ladder. This took place at MHCLG questions on 19th June, the transcript of which is below:
Giles Watling MP
What steps he is taking to help young people get on the housing ladder.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (James Brokenshire MP)
Since 2010, more than half a million people have been helped into home ownership through Government-backed schemes, including Help to Buy and the right to buy. The recent independent evaluation of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme found that 63% of first-time buyers using it were under 35.
Giles Watling MP
While the lifting of the housing revenue account cap is welcome and will deliver more council-built homes, which will be used to meet the long-standing demand for council housing across the country, we need more private homes. What more can the Government do to help the delivery of that private housing, which will bring prices down and increase the availability for young people?
Secretary of State
My hon. Friend has made an important point about the housing revenue account cap and our desire to see more council homes built, but he is right to say that we also want to see a general increase in housing supply. Last year’s figures show that more than 222,000 homes were delivered, the highest number for a decade. As my hon. Friend says, there is more to do, but I should emphasise to him that the number of first-time buyers is at an 11-year high.