Recommendation 5

The long-term success of the Department’s housing policies depends on it being able to engage effectively with organisations across the housing sector and provide clarity on funding, without losing sight of the needs of those who are unlikely to be able to buy or rent their own home without support. Success in delivering housing relies on close working with local authorities, good relationships with developers, and maximising value for money from the public subsidy of housing. Starter Homes and First Homes are, however, aimed at people who want to buy and have incomes that allow them to do so—they do not help people move out of temporary accommodation, which requires more social housing. The Department’s view is that diversity of housing supply is key to building out sites and increasing rates of take up of new housing. The £12.2 billion Affordable Homes Programme contains other types of new housing supply to meet a variety of needs. The Department counts student accommodation and converted offices as new housing, as they relieve pressure on housing more widely. To address the housing needs of the homeless and those in temporary accommodation, Homes England is trying to encourage the building of smaller, cheaper homes through investing in modular homes, encouraging sites with high levels of modular construction, and encouraging demand for this type of home given the doubts of some local planning authorities. Recommendation: The Department should write to us within three months to explain how it is addressing the problems of homelessness, rough sleeping, and families in temporary accommodation. It should increase its efforts to work more closely with local authorities and developers, make greater use of innovative methods such as modular forms of housing, and embed space and light standards in legislation to ensure housing is of decent quality. 8 Starter Homes 1 Discounted homes for first-time buyers