Last week Parliament returned from the prorogation with the State Opening of Parliament when Her Majesty the Queen began a new session of Parliament with the ‘Queen’s Speech’. This is where the government lays out its programme for the new session.
The Queen’s Speech laid out a comprehensive programme of
bills and other measures the government will be bringing to Parliament
including key areas such as the environment, animal welfare, crime and victim
support, protecting free speech, supporting the NHS, providing people with the
skills they will need for the future, planning reform and levelling up our economy.
Every new session of Parliament begins with several days of
debate on the topics in the Queen’s Speech. I am pleased to be able to
contribute to the debate last Thursday. In my speech I raised one of the issues
that I know is currently a major concern for local people – housing.
We have seen a dramatic increase in demand for housing, to
purchase and rent, in Cornwall. Some reports indicate that there have been over
15 million searches for properties to buy in Cornwall already this year, the
highest in the country, and over 1 million people looking to rent a home. I
have often said that I can appreciate why so many people are interested in
living in what is the most amazing place in the UK, I mean I wouldn’t want to
live anywhere else. But the current situation is unsustainable and is having a
very negative impact for local people and businesses.
My office is regularly being contacted by local people who
are finding it impossible to find a place to live, whether to purchase or rent.
I also know of many businesses that are struggling to find the staff they need,
not because they cannot recruit staff, but because often those staff are coming
from elsewhere and although they find a job they then cannot find anywhere to
live and so have to decline the job offer.
In my speech in Parliament, I highlighted the concerns many
local people have raised with me. Clearly part of the solution is that we do
need to build more homes in order to meet the housing need both locally and
nationally. The government are proposing new legislation that will seek to
simplify the planning process to make it easier to build the new homes we most
definitely need. However, I also acknowledge the reasonable concerns some have
about the impact any reform of the planning system may have.
The experience in Cornwall of the past decades is that just
building more houses does not necessarily mean local people are able to access
these new homes. Too many are purchased by people who use them as an investment
– whether that is as 2nd homes, holiday lets or buy to rent
properties. There is little point in building lots of new houses if they aren’t
available for local people to buy or rent as their main residence.
This is a hugely complex matter and anyone who pretends
there are quick or easy solutions doesn’t understand the realities of the
housing market. We live in a free country where people are free to purchase
property and live wherever the wish – I do not think anyone would seriously
want to change this. The government has and continues to take steps to assist
people onto the housing ladder. Schemes like Help to Buy have helped many first-time
buyers. New measures such as 95% mortgages and a new homes discount scheme will
further assist. I believe we also need to make more use of community land
trusts and self-build opportunities as well as building more ‘affordable homes’
that are only offered to local people.
Following the debate, I have since spoken to the housing
minister to ask him to ensure his office is aware of the current situation in
Cornwall and what steps the government could take in the short term to help. There
is not going to be a single solution to this challenge, but it is something
that we need to work for a long-term sustainable solution to. I will continue
to work to find the solutions we need so that local people, particularly our
young people, have the opportunity to own or rent a home in the place we all
love to call home.
