Today, Parliament will debate the impact of stamp duty in a debate I co-sponsored with Anne Main (MP for St Albans).

I have written a column in the Daily Telegraph today, making the economic and social case for scrapping stamp duty for homes under £500,000. You can read it here.

The UK has a major shortage of affordable homes. The parlous state of the public finances has made filling the gap more difficult - although, it has to be said, more affordable homes have been built in each year under the coalition, than in any of the thirteen under Labour. At a local level, the need for new homes runs in tension with planning restrictions, and the understandable local desire to check urban sprawl and protect our open spaces. It's a fine balance. But, that doesn't mean we can't make progress.

On Friday, I opened a new block of affordable homes at Imber Cross, in Thames Ditton (pictured below with Alistair Court-Smith Chairman of Rosemary Simmons and Cllr James Browne of Elmbridge Borough Council).

The new appartments are energy-efficient, affordable homes built by the Rosemary Simmonds Housing Association in close collaboration with Elmbridge borough council. They look great - outside and in - and are just what we need to give young families and key workers an opportunity to live in the borough.

Iain Duncan Smith's brilliant think tank, the Centre for Social Justice, has a program called the 'Inner City Challenge', enabling MPs - from across the political spectrum - to engage in poverty-fighting projects.

I jumped at the chance to spend three days volunteering at Anchor House, an award-winning charity that helps homeless people get back on their feet. Anchor House, led by Keith Fernett, has a unique ethos combining practical support and tough love, as its website explains further here.

My three days there threw up a range of insights about the plight of the homeless. I was de-briefed and interviewed by the staff there here.

If I took two things away from the experience, it was first that homelessness is invariably a symptom of a range of other problems - from debt and addiction to mental health issues and relationship breakdown. Second, hitting rock bottom can provide an opportunity for people to put their lives back together, as long as they get the right support and they are themselves committed to turning things around.

Inevitably, you hear some really sad stories in a homeless shelter. But, in reality, I found my stint there remarkably uplifting and inspiring, mainly because of the 'can-do' attitude and energy of both staff and residents.

Today, I wrote a piece for The Times, looking at the (limited) options the government has for managing the expected flow of migration from Romania and Bulgaria from the end of this year.

You can access the article here.

The government has just announced the allocation of funding under the new Homes Bonus, granting £1.25million of tax recvenue back to Elmbridge. You can see the geographic allocation of funds here.

The idea is to replace top down targets with a financial carrot for communities able and willing to build new homes - especiably affordable housing. For Elmbridge, where there has been a large influx of people - as part of the wider tide of people creeping out of London - this reform will make a difference. One complaint historically has been that we do not receive enough investment to pay for the infrastucture and services to accomodate people, on top of concerns about urban sprawl.

Whilst the new planning guidance must retain greenbelt safeguards and local democratic checks to safeguard against over-development, the new Homes Bonus is part of wider progress we need to make to address the funding shortfall. The broader principle - that local communities should see more of the taxes raised locally - is crucial, and I hope it will be pursued in other areas.

There has been a lot of controversy in the papers about the government's proposed draft National Planning Policy Framework. I have made a formal submission to the consultation and took part in the debate on Thursday.

Development is one of the thorniest local issues. On the one hand, we are blessed with 57% greenbelt in this borough - and we want to protect our open spaces. On the other hand, there is an acute shortage of affordable homes.

The government's answer is twofold. First, to scrap the top-down housing targets (such as the notorious South East Plan) and replace them with a policy that allows local councils to set their own housing policy in consultation with local people. Second, to incentivize the provision of affordable homes, government will give councils extra investment for each new home built - to help pay for extra public services and infrastructure.

This approach makes sense. It allows the local community to determine the balance of development, and offers carrot not stick, to incentivize provision of new affordable housing - whilst remaining sensitive to the wishes of local residents. This week, I opened Wardur Court and House, 22 new homes in Walton built to blend in with the neighbourhood, to an energy-efficient design and available for rent and shared-ownership. This is the kind of new housing that will help us ensure young couples and key workers can live locally - which is important for sustaining a vibrant community.

(Dom opens Wardur Court with Wendy Pridmore of the Rosemary Simmons Memorial Housing Association)

Planning is a red hot local issue in Elmbridge, a borough which is 57% greenbelt. I have regularly posted comment on the need to protect the greenbelt, but also address the lack of affordable housing locally.

The South East plan imposed top-down targets of nearly 6,000 new housing units in Elmbridge. The newly elected government scrapped that strait-jacket target, and left councils to set their own policy in consultation with local communities. Elmbridge borough council is now actively seeking local views on a draft plan. The consultation lasts until 4 October, so I urge everyone with a view on this key issue to click here , to feed in your opinion direct to the council via their website and/or write to your local borough councillor.

Planning policy is a vital local issue. The new government has strengthened local democratic control in this area. So, this is the time and opportunity to have your say!

The new government has taken decisive steps to preserve our greenbelt and open spaces from concrete - scrapping the South East Plan and announcing plans to put communities (not Whitehall) in charge of planning policy. But there remains considerable demand for affordable housing in Elmbridge - households on the local authority register for social housing rose by 22% between 2002 and 2008. So, what is the government's plan?

The government proposes to expand shared ownership schemes for social tenants. It is reviewing the scope to give local authorities a greater share of the tax revenue raised from the sale of new homes - to incentivise the provision of affordable housing where appropriate. And, it is looking at scrapping stamp duty for first time buyers - an idea I strongly favour.

Today, I visited some of the existing and new social housing - being managed and delivered locally by Elmbridge Housing Trust - including at St Johns Wood, Thames Mead, Nelson House and Colnwell House. Demand remains high for rented and shared ownership - particularly amongst 'key workers' and first time buyers.

There is a tension between preventing urban sprawl and providing affordable housing - all the more reason to strengthen local democracy so that communities, not quangos and bureaucrats, get decide how to strike the right balance for them.

(Inspecting the Solar Panels on the new homes at Nelson House with Scott Baxendale from Elmbridge Housing Trust)

This week, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced that the government is scrapping all Regional Strategies, which impose top-down housing targets on local communities. Here in Elmbridge, the South East Plan had piled the pressure on our greenbelt, and other open spaces, by dictating the building of almost 6,000 new housing units.

Mr Pickles has written to all local authorities, including Elmbridge, relieving them of those arbitrary targets, and indicating that housing policy in the future will be set by communities. This is critical to protecting our greenbelt, but also signals a broader sea-change of approach. I will be pressing hard to ensure that this is just a first step towards much stronger local democracy over a range of bread and butter decisions that impact on community life.

On Friday, I braved the elements to meet with Elmbridge Housing Trust, to learn more about pressures on housing across the borough. I met with Managing Director, Scott Baxendale, and heard about the range of services the Trust provides. As well as dealing with housing, it is the eyes and ears for other economic and social issues at neighbourhood level.

I have made clear that in the debate between development and protecting the greenbelt, my priority is to strengthen local democracy so that elected councils have proper powers to preserve the greenbelt for future generations. I want to remove planning responsibilities from the regional quango – the Regional Development Agency – that imposed the arbitrary, top-down, target of 5,620 new properties in Elmbridge. Elected councillors – properly accountable to local communities – should have greater control. But, I also recognise the pressures on housing including affordable homes in the borough – and the long term factors driving those pressures. If they are not addressed, we risk creating communities in which our children and those providing key services will be less able to afford to live.

To address the shortage of affordable homes, we need to recognise the underlying causes. They include three policy failures under this government: open-door immigration creating population pressure across London and the South East driving up demand for housing; the failure of the regulatory system to check the housing price bubble, pushing young families off the housing ladder; and a blunt, top-down, system of housing targets, without the resources needed to provide the infrastructure to support them.

So we need leadership at the national level to get out of the current rut. I met with David Cameron last week, and discussed various local issues in Elmbridge (see below). On Sunday, speaking on the Andrew Marr show, he highlighted the impact of immigration on housing and confirmed Conservative plans for an annual limit, saying: ‘We would like to see net immigration in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands’. To prevent a repeat of the recent house price bubble, George Osborne has pledged to give the Bank of England back its responsibility for oversight of asset prices. And a Conservative government would overhaul the planning system – replacing regional and central government micro-management with stronger local democracy.

These reforms are vital for the long term. But what will ease housing pressures in Elmbridge now? I am campaigning for four Conservative initiatives that will make a difference locally. First, abolition of stamp duty up to £250k for first time buyers, to help young families get onto the housing ladder. Second, giving local authorities a greater share of the revenue from the sale of new housing – to incentivise provision of new homes where appropriate. Third, ending restrictions on people starting a business in social housing - to help entrepreneurial social tenants help themselves. Finally, I will be looking into the funding formula from central government for social housing in Elmbridge, given reported discrepancies compared with equally affluent areas such as Richmond.

There are no quick fixes. We need deep reform. But, with leadership at a national level, and stronger local democracy, we can get the right balance. On a personal note, Erika and I were delighted to have an offer accepted on a property in Claygate – we look forward to making our home in the constituency in February!