, Shadow Housing and
Planning Minister, commenting on a new report from the
National Housing Federation which shows delivering social housing
could add £50 billion to the economy, said:
“Safe, secure and affordable housing is the foundation of a good
life for families and a strong economy for our country.
“But after 14 years in power, the Conservatives have completely
failed to deliver the new homes Britain needs. The Tories have
created a housing emergency with more than one million people
waiting for a social home.
“The next Labour government will get Britain building and
deliver the biggest boost to affordable, social and council
housing for a generation. Developers have been let off the hook
and for too long allowed to wriggle out of their responsibilities
to provide new social and affordable homes. Labour will
robustly hold them to account to deliver on their obligations to
deliver affordable places to live.”
Ends
Notes:
Labour will strengthen the rules to prevent developers
wriggling out of their responsibilities, speeding up new social
and affordable housing. We will:
- Upskill local authorities on Section 106 negotiations through
an expert, central Take Back Control Unit.
- Increase transparency around the viability process for the
development of new affordable and social housing by creating
guidance on viability levels across different parts of the
country and a model assessment form that developers and Councils
can use when evaluating this.
- And ensure developers can no longer wriggle out of their
commitments to build more social and affordable homes, by only
allowing developers to challenge cases where there are genuine
barriers to delivering these new homes.
Where the Tories have snatched billions from affordable
housing, Labour will unlock government grants to deliver new
homes, by:
- Enabling officials to funnel funds to projects where there is
higher demand, so funding for no-go projects can be freed up to
create the housing people need.
- Allowing Homes England, Councils and housing
associations to use a greater proportion of grant funds that they
receive to buy social and affordable homes from existing housing
stock, so they can get the homes needed and help deliver stalled
sites.
- Improving economic modelling to better secure future funding.
This would install appropriate contingency plans to stop
external pressures from having such disproportionate effects on
the programme in the future.
- And working more collaboratively with local leaders – who
know their areas best - to better target funds.
We’ll give local authorities and housing
associations certainty and stability over time, so they have the
confidence and security to invest in affordable, social and
council housing stock:
- We will actively champion social and affordable housing
to meet housing need, support the market to grow.
- And we will end the Tories’ approach of last-minute unplanned
changes that wreak chaos and instability.
