Housing White Paper

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:46 pm on 7 February 2017.

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Photo of Sajid Javid Sajid Javid The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 12:46, 7 February 2017

We rightly follow a policy of letting local authorities set out their plans and determine what is right for their area, but it is important to ensure that that is not used by some authorities—it is only some—as an excuse for avoiding making tough decisions. We have a housing shortage in virtually every part of England. That includes much of the south-east, and I can think of areas in the north as well. We can tackle that only if local authorities are honest about their needs and if they plan on that basis.