MPs call for social housing to be ‘top of agenda’ for recovery

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The influential Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee have called for social housing to be ‘top of the agenda’ for recovery. Their new report Building More Social Housing is the culmination of a year-long Inquiry, which included the NHC appearing before the Committee in October 2019.

The report’s conclusions include that:

  • At least 90,000 net additional social rent homes a year are needed in England and that it is time for Government to invest
  • Government can significantly reduce the expenditure required for these homes by reforming land value capture and use of public land
  • Local authorities should receive 100% of Right to Buy receipts and have longer to spend them

As well as considering the resources required to build the social homes we need, the Committee also considers local government capacity, and concludes that “It is imperative that local planning authorities have the right resources to deliver the social housing this country needs, and to ensure private developers deliver sufficient social housing on new developments.”

Commenting on the report, the NHC’s Brian Robson said:

“It is good to see the Committee recognise the role that new homes can play in social and economic recovery. The report sets out clearly the need for a truly national programme of affordable housing delivery, and also recognises some of the differences in delivery in the North of England, such as the lower value of planning obligations in our regions.”

The NHC continues to ensure that the collective voice of housing in the North reaches and connects with policy shapers by submitting evidence to Select Committee Inquiries, including the BEIS Select Committee’s Inquiry into post-pandemic growth