Talking to constituents, I know that for many, especially younger people, their main hope for the year will be to get their foot on the housing ladder, or find a decent home.

Recent house price increases in the area have certainly benefited home owners.  Many properties are worth double what they were just five years ago. But I also know of the real difficulties that this can cause for those who do not own their own home.  I have been contacted by many who are trying to buy their first home and simply are not able to do so, even though they steadily employed and earning a decent salary.

There is certainly no easy solution. People are changing how they choose to live – for example in smaller households – and there is a limited amount of building land in the region.  No-one wants to see our countryside built over. But I have been lobbying Government to put into place a series of measures which should help to alleviate the problem. I believe that we have to look at new ways of how we own our houses and at the same time sustainably build more houses where people want them.

More and better social housing is part of the answer. Since 1997 the Government has invested more than £16 billion in social housing. This has meant that over one million homes have now been brought up to a decent standard, with many more due to be improved over the next few years. There are also plans to see the building of at least 200,000 new homes by 2016, including a 50% increase in new social housing over this three year period. I’m also pleased to see that the Chancellor will make social housing a priority in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

There are also new planning rules to make it possible to build more affordable housing. Under a new rule called Planning Policy Statement 3 which was published last month, councils will have new powers to encourage more affordable housing.  For example, PPS3 will give new powers to councils to allow them to lower the threshold in rural communities so smaller developments can include affordable housing.

Government is also paying more attention to the facilities that a well planned development needs. For example, the planning system will have to identify and meet the housing needs of children for the first time. And for the first time, parks as well as parking spaces will be taken into account by local planners.

And finally, December saw a long awaited announcement to require higher environmental standards in new homes. The Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report set out that within 10 years all new homes we build must be zero carbon. We have also seen a new Planning Policy Statement on climate change, a revised Code for Sustainable Homes and plans for the future of building regulations to set out the timetable to reach zero carbon development. Greener homes are often more affordable homes in which to live, so it is worth everyone remembering that some simple steps like loft insulation will save your pocket and the planet.