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Rented Housing

The Minister indicates that it was always an ambition, but that is not what the Prime Minister said on 11 July 2007, when he announced the draft legislative programme. He said that there would be 3 million homes by 2020 and that:"““For England, we will raise the annual house building target for 2016 from 200,000 houses a year to 240,000 new homes a year””—[Official Report, 11 July 2007; Vol. 462, c. 1449.]" It was clear that the Prime Minister thought that it was a target. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on the 27 November 2007, when she was talking about the planning White Paper, very specifically mentioned achieving the target for 3 million homes—there was no ambiguity about it. The Minister's immediate predecessor, the Minister for Europe, the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), said:"““We believe that a total of 3 million new homes needed by 2020 will be delivered by 2020””," and, what is more,"““we will deliver the target of 2 million by 2016””."