Speaking during Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions Dr Stoate said;

“My right hon. Friend knows that one of the main issues that affects public sector recruitment in areas just outside London, particularly in Kent Thameside, is the cost of housing there. Will he show how his policies will make more houses available, particularly to those key workers in nursing, teaching and the police whom we so desperately need if we are to continue the regeneration of areas outside London?”

In response the Deputy PM said, “Absolutely critical for sustainable communities is, first, that we should not cancel all the houses that are being built, which seems to be the Opposition's policy. We will keep to the building programme. The second thing that we would do is to provide the opportunity for key workers to buy using that form of equity. Under the present key worker policy, we pay up to about £100,000 in subsidy to provide a house to maintain a hospital or teacher service. Frankly, that is not the best way to use money. With the equity shares that we are now using or by separating the construction price from the land price and using the Government land that we keep to our advantage, we allow key workers to have a mortgage price that they can afford.”