Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to balance an increase in supply of new housing with stabilisation of demand to enable the market to clear. [87518]

Grant Shapps MP; Minister of State: The Government recognise the importance of getting the housing market moving again. We have recently published ‘Laying the Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England’, which sets out our housing policies to tackle the particular problems currently being faced:

Lenders are not lending enough-with high deposit requirements excluding young people and families from home ownership. Hence, we are promoting schemes such as Firstbuy, extending the right to buy and supporting a new and innovative new build indemnity scheme.

Builders are not building-without consumers ready to buy, and without enough land for development or access to finance. Hence, we are promoting policies such as the £400 million Getting Britain Building investment fund, establishing a new £500 million Growing Places Fund which will support infrastructure for housing and economic growth and freeing up public sector land with capacity to deliver up to 100,000 new homes.

These demand and supply measures aim to get the housing market-and in particular new house building-moving again. This is vital for our economic growth-but more importantly, it is essential to the hopes and plans of young people, families and older households across the country.