24
Sep
Housing target can still be met, says minister
Housing minister Caroline Flint has insisted that the government
can still hit its target of building three million new homes by
2020, despite the recent slowdown in house building.
Addressing the issue at the Labour Party conference, Ms Flint said
that some have called for the target to be dropped, but she
retorted: "We will not give up that easily. Labour will build the
homes Britain needs."
Ms Flint argued that the "only" Conservative housing policy is a
"pathetic" pledge to scrap home information packs.
The minister also used the speech to restate her support for eco
towns.
Ms Flint's speech came in the week after the National Housing
Federation (NHF) questioned whether the house building target of
the government is achievable.
Speaking at the NHF annual conference in Birmingham last week,
chief executive David Orr said that without large scale government
intervention only 1.6 million new homes will be constructed by the
target date.
