Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Paragraph: 139
We heard concerns about the Government’s First Homes programme, especially its potential impact on the...
Recommendation
We heard concerns about the Government’s First Homes programme, especially its potential impact on the provision of other forms of affordable housing. First Homes has an important part to play in delivering homeownership, and we hope that the Government has learnt the lessons of the failure of the Starter Homes programme and the need for the 25% price reduction to remain in perpetuity. But the Government must also ensure that its First Homes programme does not reduce incentives for other types of affordable housing—in particular the delivery of shared ownership properties or social housing. We recommend that the Government lay out its timetable for when First Homes will become available. To reflect the needs for different types of affordable housing in different areas, local authorities should have discretion over what proportion of houses built under Section 106 agreements must be First Homes.
Paragraph Reference:
139
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
46. First Homes are an important part of our plans to make home ownership more widely available and affordable for local people and key workers. The Government has already changed national planning policy and issued guidance to secure First Homes as part of planning applications, which came into effect on 28 June 2021. Through an early delivery programme First Homes are already available at four sites in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, County Durham and Cheshire, and Homes England are working with developers and local authorities to deliver a further pilot programme of 1,500 First Homes over the next year. 47. The speed at which the new national policy takes full effect, and First Homes start to be delivered across England as planned, is dependent on planning decisions made at local level; decisions on the tenure mix of any given site will be determined at local level, taking national planning policy into account. Given the time it usually takes from the grant of planning permission to homes going on sale, the Government expects First Homes to start to become available through the planning system imminently at a relatively small scale, and to ramp up to become a major component of new affordable housing within the next few years. 48. While local authorities retain discretion to meet the local need for different types of affordable housing, the First Homes policy aims to ensure that first-time buyers across England are able to benefit from the discounts provided through First Homes. To ensure that First Homes are delivered consistently, the Government has set out in policy that they should account for at least 25% of all affordable housing units delivered by developers through planning agreements. Under our reformed approach, the Infrastructure Levy will become the leading mechanism for delivering onsite affordable housing in the long-term.