People

Grant Shapps

Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield

Minister for Housing

Tel: 020 7219 8497 / Fax: 020 7219 0659 / Welwyn Hatfield Conservatives , Maynard House , The Common , Hatfield , AL10 0NF
Email: grant@shapps.com / Web: www.shapps.com
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Grant was born and educated in Hertfordshire, attending Watford Grammar School.

After studying Business in Manchester he returned home to found his own printing company, aged 21, and it is a business that thrives to this day.
Grant is well-known as a hard-working, campaigning, constituency MP who has often led the fight on behalf of his Welwyn Hatfield constituents. In particular Grant fought a long battle against the closure of major hospital services in his area creating HospitalSOS; a cross-party campaign to highlight the closure of A&E and Maternity services at the QE2 Hospital in Welwyn Garden City. Grant lives in his constituency and prides himself on being at the heart of the Welwyn Hatfield community.

Grant is a strong believer in social justice and this has been a driving factor is his work to uncover the true extent of homelessness in Britain. Having researched and written various reports on the subject, Grant went on to highlight his concerns by sleeping rough on Christmas Eve 2007.

During 2008 he helped the modern day Conservative Party follow in the footsteps of Ian MacLeod - who founded homeless charity Crisis in 1967 - by joining David Cameron to launch the Conservative Homelessness Foundation at Crisis HQ in London. The new Foundation will work with the Conservative Party to develop policies aimed at eradicating rough sleeping and addressing the wider issue of homelessness.

With housing high on the national agenda, Grant believes that stability in family life and social structure begins at home and he has become a vocal critic of housing policy over the past ten years which has led to fewer homes of every type being built.

Grant has written a number of reports, some of which are available on the right-hand side of this page under 'Downloadable documents'. Other reports can be found on Grant's website.