Your own home with Labour

Paul said:

"I think John Prescott's plans make a great deal of sense for people living in Ryedale. Because of our successful local economy in Ryedale house prices have risen in recent years. Local people are telling me about the problems they are having getting affordable, decent accommodation for them and their families. These plans are great news for first time buyers and key workers alike. The new proposals will also benefit local authority and housing association tenants. The scheme truly offers a home for all.

"I'm pleased that Labour has the commitment to deal with this problem and today's announcement should help many more people into home ownership. We are helping hard working people improve their quality of life something the Tories have little regard for. The Tories would cut the housing budget and slash social housing - we can't allow them to take us back to the bad old days of a boom and bust housing market."

John Prescott MP, Labour's Deputy Prime Minister, said only Labour would offer more people the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder, and warned that Tory cuts would mean fewer affordable homes.

With plans announced for £60,000 homes for first time buyers, John Prescott MP, speaking at the Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester, said:

"Labour is investing in homes for all – helping first time buyers, key workers and making sure that social tenants get more choice and decent homes.

"The Tories are committed to slashing the budget for housing and sustainable communities by £1billion. They could return us to a failed past of sky high interest rates, negative equity and cuts to social housing."

Notes for editors

· Helping 80,000 people into home ownership by 2010, including a new First Time Buyer's Initiative using publicly-owned land to build family houses for as little as £60,000

· Homebuy – a new scheme that will allow the tenants of local authorities and housing associations to buy a stake in their home, thus extending the opportunity for home ownership for up to 300,000 families

· Ensuring the proceeds from Homebuy sales are re-invested in housing

· Continuing the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire schemes for people who qualify to purchase their home from their local authority or housing association

· Changes to the planning system to ensure more affordable housing for key workers and young families in rural areas

· Maintaining a strong social housing sector

Additionally, our plans to deliver housing growth responsibly will see the following developments:

· Continued investment to deliver homes, jobs and infrastructure in four Growth Areas in the wider South East - delivering 1.1 million new homes by 2016; and up to £40 million to support other areas which want to pursue growth

· New measures to protect the environment: extending existing density regulations to cover areas of high housing demand in the South West and East

· New powers to protect the greenbelt

· Introducing a code to create more sustainable buildings

· Extending the £1.2 billion market renewal programme in the North and Midlands to cover new areas suffering from low demand and abandoned homes

· Action to help meet housing need in rural areas, with new planning guidance (PPG3) enabling local authorities to allocate sites for affordable housing in rural communities, permanently dedicated to meeting the needs of key workers and local people

Additionally, under Labour there are plans to extend quality and choice for people renting their homes including:

· Building 10,000 extra social homes a year by 2008 - a 50 per cent increase on current rates

· Extending choice-based lettings nationwide by 2010, giving tenants more say over where they live

· Unveiling MoveUK - a new online system bringing together nationwide information about jobs and housing opportunities, giving people the chance of a fresh start in a new area.

And we are committed to provide more support for people with particular housing needs through:

· Tackling homelessness, with the aim of halving numbers in temporary accommodation by 2010

· Effective provision for Gypsies and Travellers, while tackling unauthorized development

· Providing more than £5 billion housing related support to help over 1.2 million people, many of them older or disabled people, to live independently in their own homes"