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Mr. Raynsford: If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, this has been a long debate in which many speeches I need to mention have been made, and time is short.
My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), in another impressive maiden speech, highlighted the regeneration potential in her constituency and in Yorkshire and Humberside. She is a powerful advocate for Doncaster, and in response to her request for my hon. Friend the Minister of State or me to visit Doncaster, I can assure her that we shall certainly want to do so as soon as a suitable opportunity arises.
The hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) repeated the anxieties expressed by other Conservative Members about what she felt was undue haste in introducing legislation. I have already responded to that. We are doing this because there is a clear need to meet the needs of people who are badly housed and homeless. We need to move swiftly; we will not delay.
My hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Ms McDonagh) spoke eloquently about housing need in her area and did so as someone with great experience, having worked in housing and chaired her borough's housing committee. She made an important and valuable contribution to the debate and will, I know, continue to do so in the House in the years ahead.
My hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mr. Bradley) also declared a Westminster connection, although that was not the main focus of his speech as he has found a constituency far from the borough in which the House is located. In a wide-ranging speech, he mentioned rural problems, BSE and opencast mining. I can assure him that my hon. Friend the Minister of State responsible for planning policy and I are both working hard on the opencast mining issue and the minerals planning guidance. We are looking closely at PPG3 in relation to the need for social housing as part of new housing developments.
The hon. Member for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin) made three criticisms of our policy. He is wrong on two counts and I simply differ from him on the third. First, he said that resources would not create sustainable employment but would cause the country to revert to boom-bust. That is pretty rich from a representative of the party that is synonymous with boom-bust. I also say to him that our phasing arrangements are designed to ensure that growth is gradual and progressive, that there is no unacceptable boom and that the increased investment is sustainable. That is an integral part of our policy.
The hon. Gentleman's second point was that there would be substitution: that local authorities would spend the money elsewhere or would spend the receipts then use other money elsewhere. They will be unable to do so, because the receipts will be targeted and we shall ensure that local authorities come up with schemes that meet the specific objectives that the Government are setting. That is why we are consulting and giving local authorities clear
guidelines. We shall maintain a close watch on how those sums are spent. We want them used to the best effect to ensure that there is investment in areas where it is needed.
Mr. Raynsford:
If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me, I shall come to his third point. He said that there would be extra spending. We recognise that fact. The extra spending is necessary to repair the damage left by the Conservative Government.
My hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) discussed poverty and deprivation in his constituency, which is in the midst of some of the country's loveliest countryside. He pleaded for protection of the countryside and for social housing. I entirely endorse those concerns.
My hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Watts) paid an important tribute to his predecessor, now Lord Evans, who is well known and greatly valued by Labour Members. He also paid tribute to his constituency and made a strong plea for its housing needs.
My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Ms Eagle), made another highly accomplished maiden speech. There was a moment of ambivalence when I was unsure whether I was listening to her or her sister. The quality of her voice and how she presented her case were reminiscent of the qualities that have made her sister, the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, such an effective and respected Member.
My hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) spoke with great feeling and knowledge about his area's housing needs. He discussed the backlog of older housing in need of modernisation, which I have seen in the course of several visits to his constituency. Those problems will be tackled by the Bill.
My hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Colman) told us a tale of two councils--the contrast in the performance of the London boroughs of Merton and of Wandsworth in looking after their areas' housing needs. He highlighted the distressing case of individuals who have suffered as a result of Wandsworth council's gross maladministration and incompetence.
The hon. Member for Guildford (Mr. St. Aubyn) gave us an interesting vignette of the old-style Tory prejudice against council housing and councils. I fear that he is ideologically blinkered and that it will probably be some time before the realities of life begin to sink in. I hope that they will one day, for his own sake.
My hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey (Mr. Truswell), in the last of the maiden speeches, spoke humorously about the glories of his constituency--prams, fish and chips, and cricket. He paid a generous tribute to his predecessor and highlighted the importance not just of housing but the welfare-to-work initiatives.
Summing up for the Opposition, the hon. Member for Hertsmere raised three main issues. He described our initiative as a bonfire in a hall of mirrors, which was an entirely inappropriate image. The only bonfire that relates to this subject is the bonfire of the vanities, which consumed his party in the last general election. Its vanity was to assume that it had a right to govern. The British electorate gave it its come-uppance on 1 May. The hon. Gentleman then claimed that he had discovered a change of stance on the part of the Government over public
expenditure. I have always made it clear that releasing capital receipts would increase public expenditure but that it was right to use that money to invest in houses and get people back to work. We differ from the Opposition in that we believe that resources should be put to good effect whereas they simply want to avoid meeting their responsibilities.
I stress again that we shall shortly consult local authorities on the mechanisms for releasing capital receipts. We propose to do so on the basis of two thirds in relation to need and one third in relation to the location of receipts.
The Government's capital receipts initiative has received an overwhelming endorsement from the public and from the wide range of people and organisations who know about the country's housing needs and understand the wide economic benefits that will flow from increased investment in housing and regeneration.
The Chartered Institute of Housing has stated that it is very pleased that the Government have presented the Bill so quickly. The Local Government Association has said that the rapid move to introduce legislation on capital receipts is very welcome. The National Housing Federation has consistently called for the release of resources to tackle disrepair and the need for new housing. The House-Builders Federation has hailed the policy as a welcome first step. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has commented that the measure could create 13,000 new jobs a year for the construction industry in each of the next five years.
The only people who have failed to respond positively are Conservative Members. They are caught in a time warp. They are clinging on to the memory of their own time in office. They are incapable of recognising that that world ended on 1 May. Like the Bourbons, they seem incapable of learning anything and incapable of forgetting anything.
The Conservatives are the party which allowed homelessness to double and allowed repossessions on a scale never before seen in this country. They slashed investment in housing while forcing up rents and leaving tenants trapped in benefit. Their record speaks for itself. The people of Britain have delivered their verdict. They have elected a new Government with a mandate for change.
Question put, That the Bill be now read a Second time:--
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