Recommendation 12

HM Government Rejected

The Government is on track to deliver 1 million homes over this Parliament, and we are continuing to work towards delivering 300,000 homes a year. This Government has a strong record on housebuilding - over 2.2 million additional homes have been delivered since 2010, and housing supply has been at 30-year record levels with the three highest annual rates of housing supply having all come since 2018. A standard method for calculating local housing need was introduced in 2018 to support the Government’s plan for the right number of homes. In December 2020, we updated the method to ensure it remained aligned with the Government’s ambition to deliver 300,000 homes per year. The Government’s standard method has, since its introduction, been used as a starting point to identify the total number of homes needed in a local area. Within this context, the NPPF is clear that it is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and to reflect this in their local planning policies. These matters are best assessed at local level, allowing the specific requirements of different places to be reflected. The Government is focused on increasing the amount of social housing available over time to provide the most affordable housing to those who need it. The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a significant number of the homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent. We consulted earlier this year on whether we should place greater weight on the social rent tenure in the National Planning Policy Framework. We expect to publish a response to this consultation later in the Autumn. The Government has no plans for a national review of the Green Belt. This Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the Green Belt. National planning policy includes strong protections for Greenbelt land, and this policy will remain firmly in place. National planning policy is also clear that local authorities should make as much use as possible of brownfield land, reducing the pressure to consider greenfield sites, and the Government is providing significant financial support for the take-up and completion of brownfield redevelopment. In our recent consultation on our proposed approach to updating the National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed to strengthen Green Belt policy by making clear that local authorities are not required to review Green Belt boundaries to meet housing needs. We are analysing responses to the consultation and expect to publish a response later this year.