Northern Housing Monitor finds urgent action needed to address housing crisis in the North

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Our new state of the region report has been launched in parliament at an event attended by Northern MPs, members, government officials and other stakeholders.  

This year’s Northern Housing Monitor revealed the urgent need for more social housing in the North. It found that there are nearly 500,000 households on social housing waiting lists in the North – a 13 per cent increase on the previous year.  The number of households forced to live in temporary accommodation is also rising fast with a yearly increase of around 16%, with over 14,000 children in the region living in temporary accommodation. 

600,000 social rent homes in the North have been sold though Right to Buy and only 1 in 7 have been replaced. This contributes to a lack of social housing, increasing homelessness and people in the lowest income group being forced to rent in the private sector where rents are higher and quality is lower. A quarter of people renting privately in the North fall into the lowest income bracket and 1 in 3 children in the North live in households that are pushed into poverty after housing costs.

The Government has committed to the “biggest growth in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation” with an ambitious target of building 1.5 million homes – 370,000 homes per year. This has subsequently seen housebuilding targets increase by 52 per cent in the North. However, the previous Government’s targets were exceeded in the North, so to hit the new targets the delivery of new homes in the North needs to increase by 27 per cent. 

The report revealed that as well as a need for more social housing, there is the twin challenge of a need to regenerate our communities with around 27 per cent of private rented homes in the North not meeting current Decent Homes standards. Rates of demolition in the North have dropped by around a quarter since 2019/20 suggesting the worst quality homes are not being replaced.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive, Northern Housing Consortium said: “Housing waiting lists are increasing and the number of people forced into expensive and unsuitable temporary accommodation is skyrocketing. 3.6m people in the North are pushed into poverty after housing costs, demonstrating the urgent need for more social housing.  

“Housing associations and councils are ready to deliver the homes their communities need and to contribute to Government housebuilding targets and economic growth, but to do this they need the right resources. The Government recently announced a £2 billion top up of the Affordable Homes Programme, something we’d been campaigning for to enable our members to continue building. However, to make a real change, longer term funding is needed to build more homes and improve existing homes and places. Lower land values make building in the North more affordable. We are leading the way with devolution, which means in many areas there is already the infrastructure and collaboration in place to better target funding.  

“It is vital that action is taken urgently to make sure that everyone in the North has access to a good quality, safe home. I’m optimistic that with the right support from Government, the social housing sector in the North can make a real difference.”

To make sure everyone in the North has a good quality safe place to call home,  we’re calling on the Government to:  

  • Launch a new ten-year affordable homes programme announced at the Spending Review:  
  • With flexibility to support housing led regeneration schemes, so outdated homes that are not fit for purpose can be replaced by new homes that meet the needs of communities. 
  • Greater devolution of funding to make sure it is targeted effectively to meet local needs.  
  • Targeted support for local authorities to ensure they are set up to build new council homes.  
  • A dedicated funding stream of at least 1.37 billion over 5 years to support housing-led neighbourhood regeneration in the North.  
  • This would run alongside the recently announced Plan for Neighbourhoods, which supports social regeneration in specific towns.  
  • Unlock up to 320,000 homes on brownfield land in the North through a ten-year £4.2 billion programme to remediate all the North’s brownfield land.  
  • Make quality a priority: 
  • Confirmation of the new Decent Homes Standard and the right financial support to make sure existing homes meet the new standard. 
  • Continued investment in energy efficiency, which lowers bills for tenants and improves quality of homes.  Previous NHC research found £500 million of retrofit funding per year up to 2030 is needed for the North to upgrade all social homes to EPC band C, and from 2030 to £1 billion per year is needed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the North’s homes. 
  • Devolved combined funding for housing quality and energy efficiency so social housing providers can work more efficiently, and the funding is targeted where it’s needed most.   
  • Support for local authorities to drive improvements in the private rented sector. 
  • Make sure that housing associations and local authorities have the financial stability needed to invest in new homes. 
  • A ten-year rent settlement at CPI plus one, with the option of rent convergence where needed.  

The Northern Housing Monitor, our annual state of the region report is produced by Arc4 and supported by believe housing, Bernicia and Yorkshire Housing. It covers housing and poverty, housing supply, housing quality and regeneration, and net zero and fuel poverty. It is available on the NHC website, alongside the Northern Housing data bank.

Speakers at the parliamentary event included Member of Parliament for Huddersfield Harpreet Uppal, Lord Best OBE DL, Director, Social Housing at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Emma Payne,  Chief Executive of Bernicia Homes John Johnson, and the NHC’s Tracy Harrison.  

Spring Statement 2025 – NHC on-the-day briefing

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On 26th March the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves delivered the Spring Statement. The government had previously signalled their intention to deliver only one fiscal event per year, in the Autumn, with a smaller economic forecast update taking place each Spring. As a result, this event did not include a significant number of major new policy announcements.

As trailed earlier in the week, one of the few headline policy announcements was the £2bn top-up to the Affordable Homes Programme, something we at the Northern Housing Consortium had been calling for in the run-up to the Spring Statement.

The majority of this funding will be available to 2026/27, extending the current AHP by a year, and will be focused on social rent. The NHC has been in contact with MHCLG and government officials are keen to stress that this is a “downpayment” ahead of a full programme at Spending Review in June, and that social housing providers who want to develop should be talking to Homes England about potential schemes as soon as possible.

 Following this announcement, the Housing Minister wrote to chief executives of all housing associations, through the Northern Housing Consortium and other sector bodies. In his letter, the Minister confirmed that the details of the next grant funding programme will be confirmed at the Spending Review, set to conclude in June, and that this new funding will prioritise the development of new homes for social rent.

Demonstrating strong demand to spend this funding will also make the strongest possible case to the Government for increasing funding levels at the Spending Review.

The NHC On-the-Day Briefing sets out the key announcements for the housing sector in the North, both in the statement and in the run up. These are outlined below:

  • £2 billion of new funding and a one-year extension for the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) “as a down payment” on future investment in developing new social homes. This new funding will aim to build an additional 18,000 new  homes.
  • £625 million worth of investment over four years in construction skills to help in their aims of building 1.5 million homes before the next election.The funding aims to train up to 60,000 more workers by 2029 as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
  • An update on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s estimates on the planning reforms included in the NPPF.
  • Reforms to the welfare system, including the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the Universal Credit health element
  • Increases to departmental and local government spending – total government capital spending will be increased by a further £13 billion over the Parliament, beyond the increases announced at the Autumn Budget, “to support growth-enhancing investments including infrastructure, housing, and defence innovation”. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, local authorities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are all set to see increases in various budgets.

 

NHC Chief Executive, Tracy Harrison said:

“We welcome the Chancellor’s focus on building much-needed social housing with the £2 billion top up to the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) and plans to invest £600m to train a new generation of builders. We called for immediate action in the Spring Statement on the AHP so our members can continue to build much needed social rent homes at a time when housing waiting lists and homelessness are rising in the North.

“All eyes are on now on the Spending Review in the summer, where details of a longer-term affordable housing fund are expected. Alongside this, Government should invest in the North’s brownfield land, where there is capacity for 320,000 new homes. A ten-year £4.2 billion programme would remediate all the North’s brownfield land.

“Housing quality is a big issue in the North, affecting the health and wellbeing of thousands of Northerners, particularly in the private rented sector. Regeneration must be at the front and centre of government policy, alongside building new homes. Our spending review submission calls for a dedicated funding stream of £1.37 billion over 5 years for place-based renewal, alongside continuing flexibility in a new Affordable Homes Programme to support regeneration.”

“Our members are regulated on the quality of their homes and their service to customers and rightly must prioritise finite resources to these areas. This means that long term funding for improving existing homes and places will unlock more investment and capacity for building the new homes that the sector is so keen to support with.”

This NHC On-the-Day briefing summarises these, and other relevant announcements. If you would like to discuss any of the details in the Spring Statement, please contact:

Patrick Murray, Executive Director (Policy and Public Affairs)

Read the On-the-Day Briefing here.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill – what NHC members need to know

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The government recently published its long-awaited Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This Bill aims to provide a more consistent, streamlined framework for planning decisions, reducing the time taken for decisions on major infrastructure and housing developments.

There are five key objectives the Government intend to achieve through the Bill:

  1. Delivering a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure
  2. Introducing a more strategic approach to nature recovery, most significantly through the introduction of a Nature Recovery Fund
  3. Improving certainty and decision-making in the planning system
  4. Unlocking land and securing public value for large scale investment
  5. Introducing effective new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning.

The Bill has several key elements which are relevant to housing providers and local authorities in the North. A full guide to the Bill is available here, but some of the key measures for Northern Housing Consortium members are outlined below.

Objective Key policy measures How will it work?
Delivering a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure

 

 Electricity network connections The system for new energy infrastructure being connected to the national electricity grid will move from ‘first come, first served’ to ensuring that projects are the closest to completion are prioritised or ‘first ready, first connected’.

 

The current system has been blamed for the delivery of new energy infrastructure being significantly delayed and it is thought this change will accelerate the delivery of clean energy infrastructure, reducing energy bills for households.

 
Introducing a more strategic approach to nature recovery Introduction of a new Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) Developers will be able to pay in to the Nature Restoration Fund, administered by Natural England, that will focus on delivering nature recovery locally and compensates for the environmental impacts of development on specific areas or sites, as an alternative to requiring project-by-project mitigation.

 

Natural England will bring forward Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) that set out the strategic action to be taken to address the impact of development on protected sites or species. The developer’s contribution to the NRF would then be used to deliver these actions and the developer would no longer be required to carry out their own assessments or deliver interventions for issues addressed by the EDP.

 
Improving certainty and decision-making in the planning system

 

 Sub-delegation and localisation of planning fees Local Planning Authorities will be empowered to set planning fees within their areas, while retaining the current fee categories (household, minor and major applications). Income from planning fees should, in the future, cover the full costs of delivering an effective planning service and allow for reinvestment back into planning teams.
Reforms to planning committee size and delegation Government intends to introduce a national scheme of delegation which will set out a uniform approach as to which planning applications should be delegated to planning officers, and which should be considered by a planning committee or subcommittee.

Government also intend on further regulating the size of planning committees “to support effective debate and avoid sprawling committees”.

 

In addition, all planning committee members will be required to undertake mandatory training.
Unlocking land and securing public value for large scale investment

 

 Reforming Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) Government hopes to accelerate compulsory purchase orders in the future, so they can play a greater part in housing and infrastructure delivery. This will include allowing statutory notices to be delivered electronically, streamlining the future CPO process and extending the ability to remove ‘hope value’ compensation to town/parish and community councils when they are using CPO powers to deliver affordable or social housing.

 
Introducing effective new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning

 

 Planning housing growth beyond individual local authorities through Spatial Development Strategies Combined authorities, upper-tier county councils and unitary authorities will be required to develop a Spatial Development Strategy for their areas. New ‘strategic planning boards’ will be able to prepare SDSs on behalf of authorities or groups of authorities.

 

An individual local authority’s local plan must be “in general conformity” with the SDS under these arrangements.

HACT Social Value Conference 2-3/04/25 – Book Your Place

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This must-attend event brings together experts in the latest thinking and innovation to challenge, inform and drive the agenda for Social Value.

Register your attendance here

Our free, two-day, online event draws some fantastic and inspirational speakers covering topics from across the board, encouraging those who are at any stage of their social value journey to dip in and out over the event to hear discussions, best practices and conversations.

Day 1

  • 10 years of the UKSVB: What we’ve learned and where we go next
  • From policy to practice: Driving accountability and delivery in Procurement
  • Small Resources, Big Impact: Unlocking the potential of the impact created in smaller organisations
  • Stepping out and stepping up: How local authorities and public sector organisations make the shift towards transformative social value

Day 2

  • It’s about us! Real people, real impact
  • Power and Purpose: Social Value in a changing political era.
  • The role of contractors in delivering long-term social value through the built environment
  • Is social-washing the new green-washing?

Register your attendance here

NHC Procurement consulting on Active Fire Framework – Please share and respond

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NHC Procurement are keen to hear from members on the development of their Active Fire Framework.

Your support in sharing and responding to the below questionnaire would be greatly appreciated.

The framework will be a key tool in supporting members to ensure their homes are safe and decent, providing an essential service addressing fire and building safety concerns.

The framework encompasses:

  • Detecting Stopping Escaping Fire
  • Manual and automatic action;
    • Extinguishers
    • Sprinklers
    • Alarms
    • Emergency escape items
    • Wet and dry risers

The link to the questionnaire is below and should take around 5minutes to complete.

ACTIVE FIRE FRAMEWORK – Member Engagement Questionnaire

 Please do take the time to respond or share with your procurement and building safety colleagues, and anyone you think may be interested in sharing their views.

Your response will help us to ensure we develop a framework that meets our member needs.

North West Housing Forum comes together to discuss devolution

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With the English Devolution White Paper published, the North West Housing Forum bringing together social housing, local government, and key stakeholders to discuss the wide ranging opportunities for the region.

The meeting takes place 9th April, 12.30 – 15.00, Preston Town Hall (Lancaster Road, Preston, Lancashire). 

The Forum has a long history of working proactively with government on sub-regional housing and regeneration issues, having originally been established to engage with the regional structures of the early 2000’s on these matters. Many will remember the Forum’s early success as part of the stakeholder group influential in the establishment of the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders, as well as the extension of the programme in the North West.

December’s English Devolution White Paper provides a huge opportunity for the region. Cumbria and Cheshire & Warrington have each been placed on the government’s Devolution Priority Programme and will elect Mayors by May 2026. Lancashire has come together under a Combined County Authority. Whilst Liverpool and Greater Manchester continue to pave the way for devolution in the North West, gaining further powers and responsibilities.

To discuss the White Paper and opportunities for the region, we will be joined in Preston by:

  • Jacqui De-Rose, Chief Executive, Progress Housing Group
  • Dr Tom Arnold, Heseltine Institute, Liverpool University
  • Tracy Gordon, Lead Officer – Housing Partnerships, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
  • Noel Sharpe, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bolton at Home & Vice Chair, Greater Manchester Housing Providers

With such a mixture of arrangements and experience, the need for collaboration and knowledge sharing is crucial. No more so than across housing and regeneration. The sector will be key to delivering ambitious housing targets. At the same time, more can be done to inject similar ambition into a programme of housing-led regeneration, improving standards and quality of life across communities. As in the past, the Forum will provide a vital space to advance these discussions.

For further information contact:

Matthew Johnston, Member Engagement Officer, Northern Housing Consortium; matthew.johnston@northern-consortium.org.uk

Showcasing improvements to home quality and safety in Huddersfield with Harpreet Uppal, MP

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We visited Kirklees Council’s Buxton House in Huddersfield with MP for Huddersfield, Harpreet Uppal. Kirklees Council is investing £16m on the tower block to refurbish and remodel the building, with improvements to fire safety, energy efficiency and quality of the homes.

Kirklees Council have developed the ‘Huddersfield Blueprint’, a ten-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre. The work to improve Buxton House aligns closely to the aspirations of the Blueprint, particularly around improvements to the appearance and contribution to sustainable and affordable town centre living.

The project will result in 46 new one and two bed affordable apartments, meeting modern building regulations and designed to link to the proposed Huddersfield Heat Network.

We are keen to continue to highlight the fantastic work our members are doing across the North to build new homes, improve the quality of existing homes, and reach net zero targets – please get in touch in your organisation has a project you would like to showcase (josef.bews@northern-consortium.org.uk).

Housing Minister announces £2 billion of new Affordable Homes Programme funding

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On 25th March, the government announced a £2 billion top up and one year extension for the Affordable Homes Programme, aiming to deliver a further 18,000 new social and affordable homes. Following this, the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has written to all housing association chief executives, through the Northern Housing Consortium, National Housing Federation and other sector bodies.

The Minister’s letter confirms that the majority of this new funding will be allocated for the financial year 2026/27, will be delivered under the terms of the current 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, and will prioritise the delivery of new homes for social rent. This means that this new funding will be able to benefit from the regeneration flexibilities introduced to the current programme in 2023, which allow grant funding to fund replacement homes on regeneration schemes where there is a net addition of homes overall.

The Minister also confirmed that the Spending Review “will set out the full details of a new grant programme to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme”, and that this will include further grant funding for new homes for both 2026/27 and subsequent years. This new funding, therefore, will act as a bridge between the current Affordable Homes Programme and its successor.

The full letter can from the Housing Minister can be found here.

In response to the announcement, Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium, said:

“We called for immediate action in the Spring Statement on the Affordable Homes Programme, so this £2 billion top up is very welcome. It will mean our members can continue to build much needed social homes at a time when housing waiting lists and homelessness are rising in the North. We are pleased that even in challenging times the Government is prioritising making sure everyone has a good quality, affordable, safe home.

“We look forward to details of the new longer-term programme at the Spending Review in the summer. We have called for the new fund to have a greater role for Mayoral Combined Authorities so there is more flexibility to meet local needs, something the Government indicated they are looking at in the English Devolution White Paper. To meet the needs of communities in the North regeneration and housing quality must also be a priority. This includes flexibility with affordable homes funding so it can be used to replace poor quality existing homes and a separate £1.37 billion fund over 5 years to support housing led neighbourhood regeneration in the North.”

You can read the NHC’s full Spending Review submission here.

A supportive and encouraging culture at the NHC

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NHC Procurement Senior Procurement & Contracts Officer Rachel Merch shares her experience of working at the NHC. She’s been with us for 17 years, working initially in events and finance before transitioning over to our procurement team 9 years ago.

Rachel is responsible for all aspects of running tenders from document checking to contract drafting. She prides herself on the support she provides to members from the start of the process right through to completion.

 

How would you describe the culture at the NHC?

It’s very supportive and encouraging, and is so flexible, offering a fantastic work life balance and providing opportunities for people in their professional development. Having such an approachable and friendly culture means the organisation gets the best out of everyone and allows us to support our members.

 

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy walking my dog, running, and spending quality time with my husband and two children. My favourite spots to walk are along the North East Coastline and in the county Durham countryside.

 

Where would you like to see the NHC in 50 years’ time?

I envision the NHC going from strength to strength and maintaining its commitment to supporting and empowering our members and their communities.

Enhancing Marketing Processes with Digital Tools

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Dan Ellwood, Senior Communications & Marketing Officer

 

What has been a highlight from your time at the NHC? 

The NHC’s 50th celebrations has been a highlight for me, I have been with the NHC for over 6 years now and it’s great when you get the opportunity to spend time with the staff, celebrating the NHC’s great work over the past 50 years.

 

What have you learnt while working at the NHC?

I have learned a lot while working for the NHC, technology is my passion, and I have introduced many new programmes to the NHC during my time here. From design app Canva which reduces design time and allows for team flexibility, to Dynamics 365 for marketing (our email marketing system) and Flipsnack, the interactive way to present plain old PDFs! I’m constantly looking for new ways to improve our marketing processes and now the age of AI is here, there are a lot of possibilities.

 

What do you like to do outside of work? 

Outside of work, I like to keep myself busy. The garden is my focus, I host during the summer for friends and family, which means a lot of BBQ and cocktail prep!  In a recent comms catch-up the question ‘What is the best advice you have been given’ came up, and my answer was ‘Give anything a try, if you fail all you’ve lost is a bit of time’. I live by that daily, from laying flooring to failing to fix the shower 8 times, the 9th did it.

 

How would you describe the culture at the NHC? 

The culture at the NHC is great, and I’m not saying that with a gun against my head either, it really is! Often, I chat to family and friends about their working arrangement in comparison to the NHC’s and more often than not its greeted with disbelief. They genuinely care about their staff, you have the time for personal development and the door is always open from management all the way up to our CEO, that’s rare…