Housing Supply 2025-04-07
2025-04-07
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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London has the highest demand for housing due to its economic needs, but targets have been cut despite the Mayor's failure to build needed houses.
Demand for housing is greatest in London, which is where the economy most needs new homes. Building in London means less pressure on commuting infrastructure and house prices in places like rural Kent, but the housing targets for London have been cut. The Government justify that by saying that London has 'the biggest proposed percentage increase against delivery'. Why is the right hon. Lady rewarding the London Mayor’s failure to build Britain’s most needed houses with lower targets?
We are asking London to deliver record levels of house building. Our revised standard method sets the housing need for London at nearly 88,000 homes per year. The previous Government artificially boosted targets for London using an extra 35% urban uplift, resulting in a target of nearly 100,000 homes—a third of the national target—which could not be justified. The London Mayor has started building more new council homes than at any time since the 1970s and is getting on with building homes while the Tories failed.
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Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not address why she rewards failure, but explained the rationale behind revised targets.
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Q2
Partial Answer
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There are around 1.3 million people on housing registers in England, and many ageing homes managed by housing associations require ongoing investment and maintenance.
With around 1.3 million people on housing registers in England, it is vital that we achieve a step change in the supply of housing, particularly social housing, over this Parliament; however, in my constituency and across the north-west, housing associations are managing many ageing, low-quality homes that require ongoing investment and maintenance. Homes for the North warns that many of these properties will become uninhabitable and unsuitable for social housing over the next decade. What consideration has my right hon. Friend given to targeting the renewal of social housing, such as through pooling funding with money for decarbonisation, so that registered social landlords can use the money flexibly to combine retrofit, demolition and new build? That would drive regeneration and reduce carbon emissions.
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the absolute mess that the previous Government left our housing stock in. We will ensure the biggest increase in social house building in a generation, and provide safe, warm and decent homes by introducing minimum energy efficiency standards and reviewing the decent homes standard. Recent funding includes £1.29 billion for the warm homes social housing fund, £800 million in top-ups to the current affordable homes programme, and a £2 billion down payment on the future programme, which will be used for regeneration projects that will result in a net increase in the number of homes.
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Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not specifically address combining funding with money for decarbonisation but discussed overall housing supply and quality improvements.
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Q3
Partial Answer
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The housing numbers for London were cut by 20% by the Government, but the Chancellor recently announced that only 1.3 million homes will be built across the UK.
The housing numbers for London were cut by 20% by the Government, but again and again we find in Hansard the Secretary of State asserting that 1.5 million homes will be built during this Parliament in England. Why did the Chancellor tell us a few days ago that only 1.3 million will be built across the whole of the UK, and will the Secretary of State please confirm that the 1.5 million target has gone?
The Minister for Housing and Planning answered this question just a moment ago. Perhaps my Mancunian accent will help: the OBR scored the national planning policy framework changes that we have already made. That is where that figure came from. Our other plans, including the new homes accelerator programme, the money that we have invested since then, and the changes in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, mean that the number will increase, and we will meet our 1.5 million homes target.
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Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not directly address why the Chancellor stated a lower figure but reiterated plans to achieve the 1.5 million home-building target.
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Q4
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There is a real housing crisis in Hackney, where families are living in overcrowded accommodation.
There is a real housing crisis in Hackney, where we spend £54 million a year on temporary accommodation. I visit families, most of them working families, in tragically overcrowded accommodation. We need this social housing as quickly as possible, and I know my right hon. Friend is putting her shoulder to the wheel. Will she visit Hackney to see the work that the council has been doing to build properly affordable social rented council housing? The council could do so much more with more Government support.
We have over 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, as I have said at the Dispatch Box a couple of times, and it is a scandal that we are in this situation. That is why the Government are making these changes. We make no apology for changing the mandatory housing targets to get Britain building again, because we need those homes and those kids deserve better.
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Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not confirm a visit but reiterated commitment to addressing housing needs.
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