Local authorities will be given financial incentives to build new housing if the conservatives win the general election.
Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister, said that funding for local government is so complicated at the moment councils cannot see the benefits of building new homes.
Mr Shapps, speaking at the National Housing Federation’s annual conference in Birmingham on 24 September, said that under the Conservatives, local authorities would receive the council tax for every new home built for six years. This would encourage new building and provide funding for essential infrastructure and public services, he claimed.
Echoing recent statements made by Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred, Mr Shapps also criticised the high turnover of housing ministers at the CLG, claiming the industry desperately needs clear leadership from government. Fewer initiatives and less ‘administrative bureaucracy’ would also stabilise the housing market, he said.
When questioned on the future of the Tenant Services Authority, Shapps said he was ‘troubled’ by the agency. He said that since the TSA’s formation he was not aware of any social housing tenant who had been helped by it. If elected the Conservatives would carefully examine the performance of every quango and regional development agency, with the aim of handing power back to Local authorities.
