Written question asked by Baroness Ford (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Hanham (Conservative) on Tuesday, 28 June 2011.

Housing

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of new homes likely to be built between April 2011 and April 2012.

Answer: We do not provide estimates of future new build numbers, as forecasting is imprecise and could affect market sentiment. However, there are various private sector organisations who can, and do, use our statistics to make their own forecasts. Ultimately, the number of new homes that are built will depend upon market conditions and decisions that are taken at the local level. This Government are rebalancing power from central government to local authorities and local people, replacing top down targets with fiscal incentives for local authorities to develop housing. I would note that house building starts in England are up 22 per cent in 2010-2011, compared to 2009-2010 (DCLG, House building: March Quarter 2011 England, 19 May 2011) and the value of new housing construction has risen by 23 per cent (in constant price terms) over the same period (ONS, Ouput in the construction Industry, Ql 2011, 13 may 2011).

Secondary information