Kris Hopkins MP

Minister for Housing

Department for Communities and Local Government

Eland House

Bressenden Place

SW1E 5DU

Ref: ML.C0033.ID.07.11.13
Date: 7th November 2013

Dear Kris,

I am writing to you to express my grave concern that Government policies on housing are leading to a surge in house prices in my constituency, making housing even more unaffordable for people buying or renting as a result.

In the last quarter house prices went up in Brighton and Hove 5.1%, which is even more than the increase in London where the quarterly increase was 4.7%.

The root of the housing crisis problem is chronic lack of supply and underinvestment by successive Governments.  Without radical policies that address this, we will not see any imporovement.

We need a massive programme of direct capital investment for a mass programme of sustainable council housing and the lifting the unfair constraints on borrowing faced by local authorities.  Instead the housing policy of the last 30 years has seen the privatisation of council housing stock, an obsession with expensive Private Finance deals and a miserable record on housing starts, that I know have left many people in Brighton Pavilion feeling very let down.

When I asked Don Foster at DCLG questions in June if the Government would look again at lifting the current cap on council borrowing for house building, and at providing direct capital spending to allow councils to build a mass programme of affordable housing (3 Jun 2013 : Column 1232), he replied:

“Mr Foster: We are looking at the point the hon. Lady has raised, and an announcement will be made on 26 June.”

Yet no such announcements were made.  Instead we have ‘Help to Buy’ which is perversely contributing towards prices rising even further beyond people’s reach.  That is no long-term solution. People in Brighton and Hove need Ministers to show some vision on housing policy.

I should be grateful for your response.

Yours sincerely,