Michelle Scrogham

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this debate. The concerns that this Bill seeks to address are genuine. Across the country, too many families are struggling to access secure and affordable housing. Young people are finding home ownership increasingly out of reach. Social housing waiting lists remain far too long and, in many communities, the growth of second homes and short-term lets has placed further pressure on already limited housing stock. Private rentals are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Far too often, we hear stories of the horrible conditions in which private tenants are forced to live. These are important challenges, and it is right that we dedicate time to solving them. However, I am not convinced that this Bill provides the remedy. The Bill focuses on identifying opportunities for affordable housing through the “assets of community value” process. That requires parish and town councils, community land trusts and local charities to identify vacant or unused buildings, or land suitable for affordable housing. At present, such assets can include pubs, village shops, community centres and libraries, among others. The hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) wants to expand the framework to include land that is vacant or substantially unused. The Liberal Democrats were part of the coalition Government, who introduced the legislation. If they believe that the framework needs strengthening to support affordable housing, why did not they do that when they were in government? The difficulty is that identifying land is not the same as building homes. Like other Members of this House, I am aware of many derelict and unused sites in my patch that would be perfect for redevelopment, but the challenge has never been knowing that these sites exist. The challenge has been securing the investment, planning capacity, infrastructure and long-term delivery required to turn those sites into homes that people can actually live in.