Over the past 20 years, rates of home ownership have declined in England. For many, the prospect of owning a home is no more than a pipe dream. This isn’t right. All those who want to own a home should, with hard work, be able to afford to do so – and my Select Committee agrees.

This week, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee have released a report into the “Affordability of Home Ownership”, calling on the government to introduce a raft of measures to help people get on the property ladder.

No silver bullet exists but the government can apply a range of supply and demand-side measures to improve the situation.

We have called on the government too:

• Reform Stamp Duty Land Tax, so that it does not continue to slow the whole housing market and damage the economy.
• Make it easier to bring empty and under-occupied homes back into residential use.
• Provide more support for small and medium sized housebuilders to be able to access available finance to provide affordable housing.

Successive governments have tried to failed to tackle the problem. There are no easy solutions, but we believe this report sets out measures which will help alleviate some of the challenges. You can read our report in full below.

Read the report

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cmselect/cmcomloc/41/report.html

Over the past week, Parliament has been on Whitsun recess. While MPs haven’t been sitting in the House of Commons, work has very much continued behind the scenes. 

On Wednesday, my Select Committee – the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee – released our report on the Government’s draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. 

In this newsletter, I want to update you on our key findings and explain what they could mean for leaseholders across Woking and beyond. 

Watch me announce the report:

Since I was elected as MP for Woking constituency in July 2024, housing has consistently been the top issue in my post bag – my team and I have helped with thousands of individual cases!

We clearly do not have enough housing locally, and the social housing that we do have is not of high enough quality. Every Woking resident deserves a safe, warm and dry place to call home. Unfortunately, damp and mould issues are two of the common problems raised with me.

This is in no small part due to the previous Conservative administration on Woking Borough Council unlawfully removing more than £4 million from the housing revenue account - ring-fenced, local authority accounts specifically for managing and maintaining council-owned housing -   which has resulted in a huge backlog of issues.

In Parliament this week, I asked the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, what steps this government is taking to ensure that that does not happen again to add further woes to our social housing stock.

With local authorities under such severe financial pressure, it’s clear that they need support from central government. The Minister did confirm that the Government is taking steps to assist local authorities whose housing revenue accounts are under pressure.

However, more needs to be done. I will keep pushing the Government to provide local authorities with further support to improve their housing supply, so that everyone in Woking can have a safe place to live.

Watch my exchange with the Minister

I recently spoke in Parliament about the growing crisis of homelessness, highlighting the incredible work of the York Road Project in Woking. For over 30 years, this local charity has supported people experiencing homelessness, providing emergency shelter, specialist support, and a pathway to rebuild lives. But despite the dedication of organisations like this, the situation is worsening. More families are being pushed into temporary accommodation, which is increasingly becoming a long-term solution rather than a short-term safety net. The human cost is devastating, with too many families left in limbo and, in some cases, in unsafe conditions.

I also raised serious concerns about decisions here in Surrey, where Surrey County Council has withdrawn funding from supported accommodation for single mothers and their children, leaving vulnerable families at risk of eviction. This is simply unacceptable.

Homelessness is not inevitable; it is the result of systemic failures in housing, welfare, and local government funding. We need urgent action from the Government to support councils, invest in social housing, and ensure no child is left without a safe place to call home.

Protecting residents’ health does not stop at cancer screening – people need a safe and warm place to call home. Social housing is one of the most common issues residents from right across Woking constituency contact me about.

As a member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, I recently helped draft a cross-party report titled Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector, that was published last week.

We found that nationally, social housing standards have barely improved since the pandemic. While many social homes are safe and decent, the minimum Decent Homes Standard has not been updated in over twenty years – and nearly 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even that basic benchmark.

Too many tenants are living in unacceptable conditions, and too often their complaints are not taken seriously.

Here in Woking, there has been progress. The Lib Dem-led Woking Borough Council invested £13.1 million in 2025/26, with a further £16 million planned for 2026/27 for capital investment on fire safety and Decent Homes improvements. That is a significant increase on the previous Conservative administration’s average of around £4 million per year, but there is still more to do.

Our committee has recommended a new, modern Decent Homes Programme that supports social landlords to help raise standards nationwide, including a dedicated pooled improvement fund and a single, clearer housing quality framework.

I am committed to ensuring every Woking resident has a safe, warm place to call home and I’m proud to have helped shape a report that sets out the path forward. However, I am only too aware that while national reform is vital, long-term plans do not fix immediate problems. If you are experiencing poor housing conditions, please contact me and my team, we will do everything we can to help.

Will Forster MP has raised the proposed Saunders Lane development in Parliament, following a well-attended public meeting at Mayford Village Hall on Saturday 13th December.

Nearly 200 residents came together to share their views and concerns about the proposal, a turnout that demonstrated the strength of local feeling and the community’s commitment to protecting Mayford and the surrounding Green Belt.

Speaking after the meeting, Will Forster said he was proud to represent such an engaged and community‑minded area:

“The turnout was remarkable and spoke volumes about how strongly people feel. Seeing so many residents prepared to speak up for their area left a lasting impression on me.”

The MP took those concerns directly to Westminster, raising the issue in Parliament to ensure that other Members of Parliament – and in particular the Housing Minister – clearly understand the cumulative impact residents fear further development would have on Mayford.

While many residents acknowledge the need for new homes in Woking, the message from the meeting was clear: this proposal is in the wrong place. Residents highlighted weak local infrastructure and serious potential consequences for traffic, public services and the local environment.

“These concerns deserve to be heard,” Will  added. “I will be writing to the council and the developers to summarise the views expressed at the meeting, and I strongly encourage residents to continue submitting their comments through the planning process.”

The MP has committed to continuing to represent local residents’ views both locally and in Parliament, and to keeping the community updated as the situation progresses.

Residents are encouraged to stay engaged and to continue raising their concerns with Will Forster MP and the relevant authorities as the planning process moves forward.

Watch Will raise the Saunders Lane development in Parliament