LGA responds to PAC report on government housing policy

Responding to a report by the Public Accounts Committee on Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government housing policy, Cllr David Renard, the Local Government Association’s housing spokesperson, said:

“To tackle the housing crisis and build the homes the country needs, the Government must hand councils the powers to build new homes at a scale not seen since the 1970s when local authorities built 40 per cent of new homes.

“There is a desperate need to reverse the decline in council housing over the past few decades. Councils fully support the aspiration of people wanting to buy their own home and helping those that want to buy to be able to. However not everybody is ready to buy, and councils need to be able to ensure a mix of homes and tenures are available in their local area, including homes for sale, social homes and other affordable homes.

“Handing councils the powers and resources to build 100,000 social homes for rent each year would help to reduce homelessness, enable more people to save up for a deposit, and deliver a £14.5 billion boost to the economy. This should also include reforming Right to Buy, so councils can keep receipts of holds sold under RTB in full, as well as being able to set discounts locally.”