Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
We are concerned that the number of homes being built for social rent is not...
Recommendation
We are concerned that the number of homes being built for social rent is not enough to meet demand. There is huge demand for social rent homes which is the only real, affordable option for many people. Despite this, the Department has a target for just 33,550 homes for social rent under the 2021 programme. The Department has shown that homes built for social rent provide higher value for money than those built for ownership, but decisions around tenure are policy decisions made by ministers. The Department notes that building more homes for social rent within the existing funding envelope would lead to fewer homes overall. The Department is consulting on capping the increase in rent that housing providers can charge, which risks reducing the number of new homes built for rent in future. Recommendation: The Department should assess how much demand there is for social rent and set out how it will use the Programme to better meet this.
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation to make an assessment of demand but will continue to maximise delivery of social rent through a mixed tenure programme and will work with the delivery agencies to confirm the 2021 programme’s capacity to deliver homes for Social Rent.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation to make an assessment of demand. However, the government will continue to maximise delivery of social rent through a mixed tenure programme. The government acknowledges the need for Social Rent homes to support functioning communities, with the right homes in the right places. That was the reason for bringing social rent homes into the scope of the programme in 2018. As the NAO’s report notes, the government already directs the delivery of homes for social rent to unaffordable areas1. The programme’s design incentivises the delivery of social rent homes in areas where they are needed the most through its value for money assessment of bids The government’s recent consultation on national planning policy invites views on how policy can be strengthened to enable local authorities to give greater importance in planning to social rent2. The government recognises that there is a demand for homes for social rent across England. However, it is for LAs to assess affordable housing need in their area. In practice, housing developers and LAs often prefer housing developments to include a balance of ownership and rental tenures to promote a mixed tenure community. For this reason, the government believes that the Affordable Homes Programme must continue to support a range of different tenures. The government will work with the delivery agencies to confirm the 2021 programme’s capacity to deliver homes for Social Rent as a part of the review cited above in response to recommendation 1. The government will confirm the programme’s ability to deliver an increased proportion of homes for social rent to Parliament at the same time as confirming the programme’s overall delivery targets.