Getting people on to property ladder remains at heart of Government agenda says Housing Secretary

Housing Secretary Simon Clarke has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to homeownership in a speech at the Conservative Party Conference.

Clarke moved to reassure aspirational homeowners that the ladder was not being pulled up on them.

He said: “Getting more people on the housing ladder, to give people security, a stake in society, and somewhere to call their own, is a fundamentally conservative goal.

“Investment Zones will help deliver many of the homes that we need, but we must go further.

“I want to reassure those hoping to get on the housing ladder, that you remain at the heart of our agenda for Government.”

The Housing Secretary also said plans were afoot to get the country building new homes to deal with the ongoing property shortage for both renters and buyers.

He said: “In the coming weeks I will be fleshing out how we intend to get more homes on the market, and improve access to those homes.

“This will build on the work of both this Government’s recent measures to lift the worst of the Stamp Duty burden, and of previous Conservative administrations, which is paying dividends in the form of record numbers of homes being built today.

“I want, like the Prime Minister, to build more houses, and to do so in the right way.”