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Housing and Regeneration Bill

I disagree slightly with my right hon. Friend about that because all local authorities now have a clear road map on achieving decent home standards, regardless of management or ownership of the property. I know that Camden is a special case and that my right hon. Friend has worked hard in that instance, but the roles are clear. I reiterate this point: far from being starved of funds, there has been a 30 per cent. increase in the amount of council funding from central Government. Private borrowing can be levered in so that more can be done more quickly. I was on a local authority when we had a large-scale voluntary transfer, and in many respects the problems of housing demand were exacerbated, because my registered social landlord, Housing Hartlepool, has been so successful that people who did not deal with it previously now want to move into a social landlord property. The problem of demand has been exacerbated, and we need to address it by building more homes. I want to reiterate my central message, and the central point of the Bill, which is that we need more homes of all different types. I shall move on to the other points made in the debate, particularly those made by the hon. Gentleman for—is it North Bermondsey and Southwark?