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Rented Housing

I think that the hon. Gentleman is perhaps resiling slightly from his rather more sweeping assertions. He is now saying that the targets were not high enough, and that not enough was provided. I share that point of view, which is not the same as saying that nothing has been done and that it has all been an utter failure. I remind him that one of the features of the investment that has been made in housing under this Government has been the enormous scale of the decent homes programme, to which a number of hon. Members have referred. We have been responding positively to the recent economic turbulence and looking for new ways to ensure that delivery remains on track. For example, we will be spending £200 million on buying unsold stock from house builders and making it available for affordable housing programmes. Already £72 million has been allocated under that programme, buying more than 2,000 properties. We have also brought forward £400 million of planned spending so that we can deliver up to 5,500 new social homes in the next 18 months. I know that the Committee has recognised that the house building programme will be more challenging in light of the current economic climate. There is no question but that the turmoil in the financial markets has seen mortgage lending plummet, and that that has had severe consequences for the house building industry. No portion of the housing sector can be shielded totally from those consequences. I welcome the thrust and the tenor of this afternoon's discussion, because our longer lives and changing lifestyles and the tremendous mismatch between supply and demand mean that continuing to increase the supply of housing must remain the first priority for the Government, as I know it is for the Committee. The context of delivery might be changing, but the underlying need is not. The decent homes programme was important, and I hear what my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) says about the need for it to be maintained. I absolutely agree with the Committee's members, almost all of whom have said that supply is key to each and every one of the housing problems that arise. The report also mentioned the private rented sector and the quality, as well as the quantity, of social housing. Hon. Members have referred to the independent review of the private rented sector conducted by Julie Rugg, which reported recently. It recognised the important role that private rented housing plays in meeting housing need, and many of the recommendations chime with those made by the Select Committee. The report showed that although the vast majority of people are satisfied with their experience, there is still much more to do not only to protect the most vulnerable from the minority of unscrupulous landlords but to professionalise the sector more generally to raise the standard of service. I accept entirely the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury, and acknowledge the scale and importance of the problems that can sometimes arise. We are urgently considering the report's recommendations, including whether a light-touch licensing system for landlords and mandatory regulation for letting agencies would better help protect the interests of consumers and of good landlords. I recognise that that was the thrust of the Committee's remarks. The quality of social housing was another theme of the report. Again, I recognise the concern that was raised in the debate. The Government accept, and will seek to deal with, some of the issues involved. We touched, although perhaps no more than that, on the housing benefit system. The report noted some of the unintended outcomes of how the system currently operates and the widely felt concern that it can be a disincentive to work. We are working on a comprehensive review of housing benefit with the Department for Work and Pensions. I am not sure that anyone said that it might be finished by next month, because it needs to be truly comprehensive, but we are certainly keen for that work to take place. I have always been a strong believer in evidence-based policy making, and evidence is undoubtedly required for it to become a reality. The Committee welcomed moves on greater tenant empowerment, and we have continued with that. I look forward to the new Tenant Services Authority championing tenants' interests as well as being responsible for regulation, as I am sure the Committee does. We accept the Committee's view that there ought to be one regulator for all types of housing, and we are committed to achieving that as soon as possible as well as setting up the national tenant voice. The Select Committee raised many of the issues that emerged from the Hills review. Its members know about, and have recognised in the debate, the many initiatives to at least begin to address some of the concerns that that study threw up. The main point that has run through the debate, and through the Committee's report and the Government's response, is the overwhelming importance of housing supply. There are a number of matters on which we need to examine the current systems, so that we can try to address some of the problems ably raised by members of the Committee, but supply is key. The sitting having continued for three hours, it was adjourned without Question put.