Gareth Bacon

Gareth Bacon

Conservative — Orpington

Speaking in the House of Commons on 10 September 2026

Debate

Social Housing Bill [Lords]

Contribution

I agree with the hon. Lady that building more social homes is part of the answer, but I will address the central point of her question a bit later in my speech. Right to buy is not the reason for the diminishing available social housing, nor the reason for our current shortage of social housing. Indeed, as my noble friend Lord Jamieson pointed out in the other place, the Government’s own impact assessment shows that in 2026-27, the pre-November 2024 baseline was 8,050 right-to-buy sales leading to 5,450 replacement homes. The document goes on to show that if this Bill were to pass and the legacy impacts wind down in the period 2031 to 2035, annual right-to-buy sales would fall to around 1,100 a year, with around 1,450 replacement homes. That means that by their own analysis and admission, the Government would oversee a housing system in which there would be 4,000 fewer new social homes funded every year.

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