The Housing Forum has written to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt with key recommendations in advance of Wednesday’s Spring Budget. This budget will define the government’s spending priorities, and could well be the last fiscal event before a general election.
This will be of particular importance to the housing sector facing a market downturn, the implementation of new regulations around building safety and biodiversity net gain, and the pressing need to decarbonise existing housing stock. Measures need to be in place to increase housing supply, improve the quality of existing and newbuild homes, and ensure affordability and choice for all.
The Housing Forum’s Manifesto for Housing 2024 contains a number of measures which can further these aims, and which could also be implemented during this budget.
Funding affordable housing
Over 300,000 people in England are currently experiencing homelessness and feeling the most acute impact of the housing crisis. Providing these individuals with a permanent home is not only the right thing to do, but it would decrease spending in other areas like health, education, and most importantly the £1.7bn spent last year on temporary accommodation.
The Housing Forum is pushing for Housing Accelerator Fund of £4bn. This would provide 60,000 affordable homes and reduce homelessness by half over three years.
Resourcing planning departments
The planning system is the most significant barrier to building the homes we need, and part of this is due to a shortage of planners in local authorities. One in five councils lack an up-to-date local plan and only one in ten planning departments are fully staffed. If the government wants to meet its target of 300,000 homes a year, councils need the resources to deliver plans to deliver the new homes we so badly need.
Other ways to support planners can be found in The Housing Forum’s recent report on streamlining the planning system, several recommendations in this could be implemented in a budget.
Supporting brownfield development
Building on brownfield sites has multiple benefits, including having greater community support and being closer to existing infrastructure than other sites. But costs associated with making the land suitable for development often make doing so commercially unviable for developers.
The government has provided useful support for brownfield regeneration to combined authorities, including recent announcements to invest £208m in urban regeneration across the north. Continuing and expanding these programmes will provide vital support to the housing sector.
Decarbonising our homes
Amidst the various challenges to the housebuilding sector, the need to improve energy efficiency among existing homes is still pressing. Only 44 percent of homes in England meet the recommended energy efficiency rating of EPC C, falling as low as 31 percent in owner occupied housing.
Many households need support to invest in their homes to make them fit for the future. Government programmes like the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund have been crucial to improve energy efficiency in social housing, 58 percent of which has an EPC C rating or higher. But the sector needs long-term commitment in order to make the most of large-scale investment such as this. We are calling a cross-sector roadmap with visibility of long-term investment to achieve low- carbon targets in both new and existing homes. This should include long-term funding for social landlords to invest in their stock – improving condition, building safety and energy efficiency in a cost-effective and co-ordinated way.
Adopting these suggestions would make a meaningful impact to the housing sector, we hope that the Chancellor considers these in the upcoming budget.
You can read our manifesto here: A Manifesto for Housing 2024
For comments please contact: Anna Clarke, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, 07442 405513
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