MPs set to quiz Housing Secretary on property market proposals

Housing Secretary Michael Gove and minister Stuart Andrew are set to be grilled by MPs on their property market plans today.

The pair will take questions from MPs on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, led by Clive Betts.

Gove will be asked questions in relation to the government’s Levelling Up, Housing and Regeneration Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech from 4pm today.

The main elements of the Bill include:

-    Placing a duty on the government to set levelling up missions and produce an annual report updating the country on delivery of these missions.
-    Creating a new model of combined authority: the ‘County Deal’ which will provide local leaders with powers to enhance local accountability, join up services and provide transparent decision making to rejuvenate their communities, increase their ability to reflect local preferences in arrangements including directly elected leaders’ titles.
-    Unlocking new powers for local authorities to bring empty premises back into use and instigate rental auctions of vacant commercial properties in town centres and on high streets. 
-    Giving residents more of a say over changing street names and ensuring everyone can continue to benefit from al fresco dining. 
-    Strengthening neighbourhood planning and digitalising the system to make local plans easier to find, understand and engage with; by making it easier for local authorities to get local plans in place, we will limit speculative development.

Andrew, who is Housing Minister, will also give evidence on the government’s property market plans.

It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week unveiled plans to extend Right to Buy to housing association tenants and launched a review on the scope for low deposit mortgages and further support for more people to get onto the property ladder.