Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government when they forecast they will
reach their target of 300,000 new homes a year.
(Con)
My Lords, our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes a year
remains. This has always been a stretching ambition, yet there
has been strong progress. The four highest rates of annual supply
in over 30 years have all been since 2018, including 234,400
homes delivered in 2022-23. Increasing supply further is more
difficult due to the economic challenges that we face, and we
continue to engage with Homes England, developers and registered
providers to understand their delivery charges.
(Con)
I am grateful to my noble friend, but those figures are based on
current housing policy. Over Christmas the Government confirmed a
major change in housing policy, with targets for local
authorities becoming advisory not mandatory; I believe that
decision was a mistake, but it has been taken. Since then, 58
local authorities have scrapped or suspended their local plans,
with a view to submitting new plans with lower figures for
housing. What action can the Government take to ensure that local
authorities do not simply succumb to anti-development pressure
and so opt out of their obligation to meet the housing
shortage?
(Con)
First, I congratulate my noble friend on once again campaigning
on this issue and holding the Government’s feet to the fire. I
have heard those figures before, and I reassure my noble friend
that the revised NPPF does not allow evasion to build. Local
authorities have to make provision for housing and identify sites
to deliver homes, and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act makes
it clear that this is a plan-led system. That is exactly why we
have recently taken intervention against seven local authorities
and will consider using these powers for others that are not
making sufficient progress.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords—
(Lab)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, it is the turn of the Labour Benches.
(Lab)
My Lords, last week the National Housing Federation published
Let’s Fix the Housing Crisis. A key recommendation is increased
grant funding to build a new generation of social housing,
particularly for those 2 million children currently living in
overcrowded, unaffordable or unsuitable homes in England. What
plans do the Government have to increase grant funding for social
housing provision to meet this urgent housing need?
(Con)
The noble Baroness raises a very good point, if I may say so. I
am sure noble Lords have heard this before, but it is through our
affordable homes programme and the £11.5 billion that we seek to
deliver tens of thousands of homes. I am pleased to say that of
the 700,000 affordable homes built since 2010, 172,000 have been
for social rent and 482,000 for rent.
(LD)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, shall we hear from the Liberal Democrat Benches and
then from the Conservative Benches? Thank you.
(LD)
My Lords, I draw attention to my declaration in the register of
interests. The noble Lord, Lord Young, is quite right to point
out the need to plan for homes but there is also a need to
deliver them. I am sure the Minister is aware that the major
players in the delivery of category 1 modular homes have failed
despite significant government investment in supporting them.
With category 2 modular methods of construction, the factories
are held largely by the small number of major housebuilders, yet
those who build homes—the bricklayers, plumbers and electricians
—are increasingly ageing and not being replaced. What will the
Government do to support smaller housebuilders, which will soon
have no access to the skilled trades to build homes and yet do
not have access to factories to use modern methods of
construction to deliver them either?
(Con)
I am very grateful to the noble Lord for raising this. There are
a number of points there, and I will not be able to do justice to
all of them, but I will write on all of those things. I think it
is about a quarter of the affordable homes programme that has to
be done through the modern methods of construction. In terms of
insufficient workers—I shall write to make that point—the
Department for Education is looking at the training routes, but
it is also something that the Government are looking at through
the significant apprenticeship programme that we have got, and
part of that is allocated towards construction workers. In terms
of doing more to support SMEs, it is something we will do but I
promise I will write to the noble Lord to set out all these
things.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Government’s reckless decision to abolish housing
targets will have devastating consequences across England, making
a safe and secure home an ever more distant prospect for
millions. Do the Government recognise that, with social
housebuilding numbers plummeting, there is an ever-increasing
burden on the taxpayer—now around £35 billion—as benefit payments
go to private landlords? How will the Minister work with the
Treasury to ensure that public money goes into bricks for social
housing, not benefits to line landlords’ pockets?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is right to talk about the need to build more
homes, and that is exactly what we are trying to do. I tried to
address the point about social housing earlier. That is why there
is the £11.5 billion in affordable homes. With respect, a key
part of this is having a plan. We have a long-term plan, but it
is not that alone but ensuring that there is funding behind it
and that we unlock land, put infrastructure in and try to do all
we can to support not just first-time buyers but those who may
have lower incomes.
(Con)
My Lords—
(CB)
My Lords—
Noble Lords
Owen!
(Con)
My Lords, shall we hear from the Cross Benches first? Thank
you.
(CB)
My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether, in order to assist
affordable housing, some thought should be given to building
prefabricated houses?
(Con)
I am grateful to the noble and learned Baroness for that. I
completely understand the point, but I do not have an answer to
it with me. It is certainly right that we should explore every
option to build a variety of homes. I undertake, with her
permission, to write to the noble and learned Baroness on that
point.
(Con)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
Noble Lords
Owen!
(Con)
My Lords, there was a time when the housing division was not
under stress. Does my noble friend agree with me that, if we had
750,000 extra people coming here last year, the stress will be
much greater?
(Con)
My noble friend raises a valid point about the need to tackle
migration and its possible impact on housing and other local
services. It is obviously right to say that we can be incredibly
proud of being a welcoming country, especially over the last few
years, but that is why we have to put in steps to tackle both
legal and illegal migration, because we know the pressures that
high migration has on housing.
The Lord
My Lords, Section 106 nil grant agreements are one of the primary
ways in which affordable housing is currently delivered, and they
account for almost half of all the affordable homes delivered
every year. These agreements are dependent on planning permission
and planning approvals, and they are at a record low. Does the
Minister have an estimated figure of the potential shortfall in
affordable homes as a result of this situation, and what steps
will be taken to tackle it?
(Con)
I am grateful to the right reverend Prelate for raising this
point yet again. The key point is to not only have a plan but to
continue to invest in unlocking land, particularly around the
funding to build affordable homes. It is about infrastructure,
investing in skills and helping people get into the property
market in the first place.
(Con)
My Lords—
(Non-Afl)
My Lords—
Noble Lords
Oh!
(Con)
My Lords, I hate to upset my noble friend, but it is the turn of
the non-affiliated noble Lord.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, is there a requirement for all new builds to be fitted
with electric heat pumps and compliant insulation? If not, why
not?
(Con)
On heat pumps specifically, I am afraid that I do not know. In
the revised NPPF, I think that it is looked at for new builds
going forward, but I do not want to say something that is not
true. I can say that homes being built from 2025 should obviously
be zero-carbon ready. Also, on new development, one of the good
things we have said is that we will deliver a 10% net gain on
biodiversity.
