Select Committee · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee

Long-term delivery of social and affordable rented housing

Status: Closed Opened: 4 Mar 2020 Closed: 31 Dec 2020 18 recommendations 8 conclusions 1 report

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has re-launched its inquiry to examine the long-term delivery of social and affordable rented housing. The Government has set a target of delivering 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s. However, current expectations mean that as little as 3% of this target could be social homes built … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
3rd Report: Building more social housing HC 173 27 Jul 2020 26 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 items
3 Recommendation 3rd Report: Building more social housing Accepted in Part

The Government must publish statistics on net additions of the different tenures of affordable housing...

The Government must publish statistics on net additions of the different tenures of affordable housing per year, taking into account completions, sales, demolitions and conversions. These statistics are currently disparate or not collected. This is especially important to track changes in social rented stock which has been affected by significant … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government lists several types of data it already collects and publishes related to housing stock and sales, and commits to investigating the feasibility of publishing more comprehensive data on affordable housing to meet the full scope of the recommendation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
13 Recommendation 3rd Report: Building more social housing Accepted in Part

It is time for the Government to invest so the country can build 90,000 social...

It is time for the Government to invest so the country can build 90,000 social rent homes a year. We appreciate that even with the funding we set out below, any programme will take time to scale up, but we expect the Government should be able to increase delivery to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government has announced a £12bn investment, including an £11.5bn Affordable Homes Programme aiming to deliver up to 180,000 affordable homes by 2025/26, with half designated for Affordable and Social Rent, but does not commit to 90,000 social rent homes per year.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 Conclusion 3rd Report: Building more social housing Accepted in Part

The sector estimates that £12.8 billion a year in grant funding will be needed to...

The sector estimates that £12.8 billion a year in grant funding will be needed to deliver 90,000 social rent homes every year, alongside continued support for affordable rent and shared ownership. Central government grant funding is necessary because the current funding model is not delivering the numbers required to meet … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government commits £12bn for Affordable Housing until 2025/26, aiming to deliver up to 180,000 homes, with half designated for Affordable and Social Rent. This provides substantial funding but is not at the estimated annual level suggested by the sector.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
17 Recommendation 3rd Report: Building more social housing Accepted in Part

We are concerned the Government is letting history repeat itself, rather than learning its lessons...

We are concerned the Government is letting history repeat itself, rather than learning its lessons from Starter Homes consultation. The Government has not conducted an analysis of the impact of implementing First Homes on the delivery of social housing through section 106 agreements. The Government has not conducted an analysis … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges concerns about the impact of First Homes on social housing delivery, stating they set a minimum 25% requirement for First Homes from developer contributions to balance provision. A new pilot programme for 1,500 First Homes will be delivered through the Affordable Housing …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
25 Recommendation 3rd Report: Building more social housing Accepted in Part

We caution the Government not to make Shared Ownership Right to Buy a condition of...

We caution the Government not to make Shared Ownership Right to Buy a condition of affordable housing grant funding, until our suggested reforms on receipts are implemented. When Right to Buy is implemented for all housing associations, like with the pilots, the Treasury should reimburse housing associations for the cost … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government clarifies that the new Right to Shared Ownership scheme does not involve discounts and providers keep receipts, mitigating some concerns. Crucially, it commits to reimbursing housing associations for the cost of discounts under the Voluntary Right to Buy, directly accepting the second part …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
8 Jun 2020 Nick Walkley · Homes England, Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Tom Copley · Greater London Authority, Tracey Waltho · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government View ↗
9 Mar 2020 George Clarke, Lynnie Hinnigan · Liverpool City Council, Philip Glanville · Local Government Association, Rachel Blake · London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Richard Johnson · Cambridge City Council View ↗

Who gave evidence

9 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
George Clarke 1
Lynnie Hinnigan · Cabinet Member for Housing Liverpool City Council 1
Nick Walkley · Chief Executive Homes England 1
Philip Glanville · Member of the Environment, Economy, Housing and T… Local Government Association 1
Rachel Blake · Member for Planning, Air Quality and Tackling Pov… London Borough of Tower Hamlets 1
Richard Johnson · Executive Councillor for Housing Cambridge City Council 1
Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP · Minister for Housing Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 1
Tom Copley · Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Developm… Greater London Authority 1
Tracey Waltho · Director General, Housing and Building Safety Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 1

Correspondence

6 letters
DateDirectionTitle
19 Nov 2020 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Housing to the Chair dated 11 November 2020 concer…
20 Oct 2020 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State dated 20 October 2020 concernin…
8 Jul 2020 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Housing dated 8 July 2020 concerning …
23 Jun 2020 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Housing to the Chair dated 22 June 2020 concerning…
12 Jun 2020 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister for Housing dated 12 June 2020 following …
12 Jun 2020 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the London Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential De…