Anne Main MP has sought assurances from the housing minister, Brandon Lewis, that St Albans will not be adversely affected as the government implements its flagship housing policy.

The housing and planning bill paves the way for tenants to buy their housing association home at a discount, paid for by the sale of high-value council homes.  The money from the sale would pay for the discount of the housing association transaction.  The council would use the rest of the money to replace its lost asset.

But the St Albans MP has raised concerns about how ‘deliverable this is’ given the need for affordable housing in the district.  After the debate, Anne said ‘what St Albans needs is more affordable homes to buy and rent in the district, while protecting the character of our green belt.  We need homes that are not out of reach of our young people who aspire to get their foot on the ladder.

‘The concerns that I was raising was that high-value areas like St Albans would find it difficult to replace these council homes.  I am arguing for protection for St Albans to ensure that the council is sufficiently compensated when it sells off its high-values housing.  The minister’s commitment to take account of areas like St Albans was welcomed.’

The housing minister said that he intended ‘to use the flexibility of the agreement process to take account of the difficulties that other local authorities might have in seeking to deliver more housing—again, if they had high-value areas, for example. My hon. Friends have spoken about that this afternoon.’  Mr Lewis reiterated that ‘the legislation is framed to provide as much flexibility as possible, so that we can consider the circumstances of each local authority and its housing need.’

After being pressed by Mrs Main in the chamber, the minister said that he looked ‘forward to working with my hon. Friend… the member for St Albans… to make sure that we get the regulations in the right place so that local authorities can deliver the housing they need.’

Anne said that ‘I am pleased that the minister has recognised my concerns and will take them forward.

‘We need local housing that suits the needs of local people.’ 

Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con): My hon. Friend is making a valiant charge on behalf of all of us who have very expensive houses in our constituencies. The median house price in St Albans is £392,000, and we are ringed by green belt. I share her concern about how deliverable this is, but we are right to push for it in areas that suffer similarly with high prices, such as London. I hope that the Minister takes that into account.

Nicola Blackwood: I thank my hon. Friend, and I agree with her.

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