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Public Accounts

I am reluctant to interrupt the hon. Gentleman’s fascinating account of his local experiences a second time, but I am sure he agrees that, given the fallen nature of man, the best that any Government can do is mitigate the inevitable sorrows of human existence. The point that I was really making to him is that that is partly about what government does and does not do. By encouraging greater housing ownership, we could reduce the demand on public policy and on the Government to supply housing. That would enable social sector housing to pick up some of the slack, which, unfortunately, ends with people being housed in unacceptable temporary accommodation. The fluidity in the housing market that I have described is beneficial in that it reduces pressure on the Government and allows them perhaps to accommodate those who find themselves in difficult circumstances.