The Housing Forum welcomes measures announced in today’s budget to support the housebuilding sector and reductions to the levies on electricity bills but calls for more support for councils with the costs of homelessness.
Chair of The Housing Forum, Stephen Teagle, said:
We are particularly pleased to see that the Government has listened to the concerns from across the sector about the proposals for massive increases in landfill tax, which could have added up to £25,000 to the cost of building each new home. Taxing builders’ rubble used to fill quarries in the same way as domestic rubbish that goes to landfill sites never seemed sensible. It is great to see a rethink here, and the Government maintain its commitment to helping the housing sector build the new homes the country needs. We are also very pleased to see a consultation on the VAT treatment of sites destined as social housing. This is something we’ve been calling for, and will help ease cash flow pressures.
It is to to see the Government recognise the need to reduce the cost of electricity relative to gas. The reductions announced to the levies on electricity bills should help reduce fuel poverty, as well as encouraging households to move to heat pumps and other low-carbon heating sources. We hope to see details of further measures to decarbonise our housing stock and tackle fuel poverty soon in the Warm Homes Plan.
The review announced into the costs to councils of temporary accommodation is also welcome – we note that the OBR has also flagged the escalating costs of temporary accommodation as one of the key risks facing local authorities.