John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Housing and Planning, responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on the disposal of public land for new housing said:

“This is a damning report. It reveals Ministers have been extraordinarily negligent in the way they deal with and dispose of public land.

“Ministers would do well to remember they are stewards of this land on behalf of the public.

“It is taxpayers who are sold short when ministers sell public assets for less than they are worth. And we all pay the price when we build fewer homes than the country needs.

“After five years of failure on housing, it’s time the government got a grip.”