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Home Affairs and Communities

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that and congratulate her on getting into the debate even though she did not get the chance to make a full speech. She mentions the importance of the council housing stock in respect of empty homes. I think she will agree that 550,000 of the 700,000 empty homes are not in the council sector, but in the private sector. The problem involves complex issues. I am happy to take them up with her, but it is not as simple as saying that 700,000 council homes are empty. I hope we can agree that we need to increase the supply of housing as well as help those who are trying to get on the housing ladder. The recommendations of the Barker review laid out a clear economic and social agenda in respect of housing supply. We will respond to that report in the course of the year. The plans for four growth areas are in full swing, and I am pleased if we have the support of the Opposition Front-Bench team on that. The programme to release public sector land for housing is under way. Planning reform is delivering faster decisions. We are determined to move the housing debate forward, not just on the supply side, but on the demand side, too. For first-time buyers, for key workers in our public services and for those on modest incomes renting from a council or the housing association sector, we believe that it is right to make home ownership more affordable. That is why in January my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister set out in his five-year plan for housing the benefit of shared equity schemes. In April, we published a major consultation paper ““HomeBuy—expanding the opportunity to own””, which set out detailed proposals to extend the scheme. It also outlined the outcome of discussions with the Council of Mortgage Lenders on exciting proposals for those private mortgage lenders to extend equity loans to first-time buyers buying on the open market. We want to explore with the CML extending the scheme to new build homes, which would allow us to help more people into home ownership. I would have thought that that would have support on both sides of the House. On regeneration, Labour believes that good housing and social regeneration must go together. It is people, not houses, who make communities. That is why the Government are committed, in every part of the country, to extend the drive to tackle anti-social behaviour—[Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden is welcome to intervene. Measures include neighbourhood policing teams, closed circuit television, neighbourhood wardens, which are making an outstanding contribution to safety in our communities, the determination to close crack houses and to crack down on drug dealing, and clear powers for local authorities in respect of neighbourly behaviour. We should be looking for Conservative support for licensing legislation and the powers that it will give local councils to take account of local views on such issues. However, as several hon. Members said, there is another side of the coin. The commitment to high-quality youth services, the commitment to sports, leisure and arts facilities, the after-school clubs and voluntary sports leagues, and the employment measures to tackle worklessness are essential to make a difference to young and sometimes aimless lives. In 88 of the most disadvantaged local authority districts, the Government have a specific programme to send a clear message. We will extend rights through investment, but we want to promote responsibility, too. Eight years ago, social exclusion was not recognised on the Floor of the House. Now, employment rates and educational standards are rising faster in those 88 neighbourhood renewal areas than the national averages. Eight years on, I hope that the whole House can commit fully to ensure that we never again have a minority of the country that is cut off from the mainstream, with disadvantages in housing, employment, education and income piled on top of each other, creating misery from one generation to the next.