Melanie Onn

I thank the right hon. Gentleman very much for supporting me on that point; this is an issue that affects many constituencies across the country. Housing associations are purveyors of social homes, so there needs to be a review of their accountability and the expectations of how well they work with local authorities. We often see disputes over land management and trees, about who looks after the land, but the people living in that area should not have to worry about who has responsibility. It is a real sticking point that I see all the time in my area. Housing associations often hold on to empty land. In my constituency, about 700 people were accommodated in high-rise flats that the housing association decided to tear down. That space has been an eyesore since 2016, and another housing association, the council or the charitable sector could easily access it and build much-needed new homes in the town centre, to prevent the doughnut effect of town centres being hollowed out. Despite the Government not really wanting the measure in the Bill—the other place voted it in—the shared ownership rules, I am pleased to say, will be looked at again. When shared ownership properties are owned by housing associations, they are often the last consideration in their portfolios. People who buy those properties to get on the first rung of a bit of the housing ladder often suddenly find themselves trapped, taking up a home that would be somebody else’s first step on the ladder, and there is no requirement for housing associations to take that more seriously.