Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Ms Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will review the five-year plan to assume that homes will be built within five years to remove incentives for developers to delay development and speculate on land.

Christopher Pincher: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local planning authorities should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies. The Government wants to see homes built faster and expects house builders to build out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Where build-out is delayed, it is for councils and developers to work closely together to overcome any barriers. To support them, this Government is looking at strengthening the tools available to local authorities to encourage faster build out rates.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-09-14/49185 

Affordable Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

 Stuart Anderson: [166569] To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to build more affordable homes and reduce social housing provider waiting lists.

Christopher Pincher: The new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will leverage up to £38 billion of private finance and provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. Approximately 50% of the homes delivered will be for affordable home ownership. We will also deliver more than double the homes for social rent compared to the current programme, with around 32,000 social rent homes due to be delivered. Furthermore, [the] Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme will deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-03-10/166569

Affordable Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of funding for the Affordable Housing Programme will be allocated to the construction of low-cost, social rent housing.

Christopher Pincher: We do not ringfence the funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) by tenure. As part of the AHP 21-26, Social Rent homes can now be funded across the country at the same grant rates as Affordable Rent. Additional funding to deliver Social Rent is available in local authority areas where affordability pressures are highest. This will ensure that Social Rent homes are built where they are most needed. The new AHP will deliver around 32,000 social rent homes, more than double the delivery of the current programme.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-02-02/148011

Affordable Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the use of section 106 agreements to deliver affordable housing.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government’s White Paper, Planning for the Future proposes that a new ‘Infrastructure Levy’ will replace section 106 planning obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy and be set in a way which delivers at least as much - if not more - onsite affordable housing than at present. It also proposes that the Levy will be payable on the completion of development. To better support the timely delivery of infrastructure, local authorities would be allowed to borrow against Infrastructure Levy revenues so that they could forward fund infrastructure.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2020-12-07/HL11139

Affordable Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

James Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much of the funding available for the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 will be included in the £12.2 billion announced in Budget 2020.

Christopher Pincher: At Budget 2020 the Government announced we are investing £12.2 billion to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26. Of this, £9.5 billion is new funding and £2 billion is for long-term strategic partnerships previously announced in September 2018.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-07-16/75461

Construction Output Begins To Rise After Dramatic Plunge

Construction output grew by 8.2% in May following the record decline of 40.2% in April 2020, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) report. Output fell by a record 29.8% in the three months to May 2020, compared with the previous three-month period. This was driven by record falls of 30.3% in new work and 28.9% in repair and maintenance. The decrease in new work (30.3%) in the three months to May was thanks to record falls in most of the new work sectors – private new housing and private commercial were the largest contributors, falling by 42.5% and 29.5% respectively. Read more on the pbcToday website.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/construction-output-may/79221/

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will seek to amend planning rules to encourage the building of homes with gardens in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Christopher Pincher: The National Planning Policy Framework encourages local planning policies and decisions to ensure developments create places that promote health and well-being with a high standard of amenity for existing and future users. The supporting National Design Guide recognises that well-designed shared and private amenity space, including gardens, can promote quality of life for the occupants and users of buildings, and are flexible to adapt to the changing needs of their users over time.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-01/51697

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the effect of the First Homes scheme on the level of Section 106 contributions to social and affordable (a) rent and (b) shared ownership.

Christopher Pincher: We have recently consulted on both the design of First Homes policy and options for its implementation. The consultation closed on 1 May and we are currently analysing the responses. As part of this we are considering the implications for other tenures. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-05-12/46154

Construction Output Expected To Plummet By 25% In 2020

Total construction output in the UK is anticipated to plummet by 25% during 2020, according to the Construction Products Association (CPA). The projected decline in construction output is one of three scenarios examined by the CPA. Even under the most optimistic of scenarios, the country’s construction activity would suffer its sharpest fall ever recorded. The temporary halt of construction work as a result of Covid-19 social distancing measures is the main source of the drop, with 60% of planned construction output lost in April due to the measures. Read more on the PBC Today website.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/construction-output-2020/76674/

Construction Figures “Disappointing”

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that construction output dropped by 1.7 per cent in February this year, the largest fall in monthly growth since October 2019. The ONS says that this may be because of the weather in February, which was the wettest seen since records began in 1862. Poor figures were seen in private housing new work, too, which fell 7.7 per cent on January’s figures, which is the second-largest fall in monthly growth in a decade – with only January 2018 being worse, at 8 per cent. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/pre-coronavirus-construction-figures-disappointing/

Construction Activity Fall Quickest Since 2009

Construction activity has declined at the fastest rate in more than a decade since the coronavirus pandemic began. Public health measures to halt the spread of covid-19 have led to stoppages of work on site and a slump in new orders. While residential activity dropped at a comparatively modest pace in March, construction companies said they were expecting a slump in house building from stoppages on site. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/construction-activity-fall-quickest-since-2009/5105422.article

Social Rented Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington of 13 June 2019, Official Report, column 860, whether his Department plans to adopt the target to build 155,000 social rented homes a year with at least 100,000 being council homes.

Kit Malthouse: We do not publish yearly targets but deliver flexibly throughout the years of the programme to achieve our overall target and hold Homes England and the GLA to account for delivery.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-07-04/273481

Total Residential Construction Output Increased By 5% In 2018

Preliminary data indicates that total residential output increased by 5% in 2018 to £74.2bn, according to the latest Construction and Housing Forecast Bulletin from AMA Research. This was underpinned by 8% increase in new work but with residential RMI remaining static at £30bn. Whilst both housing starts and completions have remained positive in 2018, the research reveals some evidence of a slowing of the growth rates for both starts and completions into H1 2019. In addition, the rate of annual house price growth has also slowed in Q1 2019. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/total-residential-construction-output-increased-by-5-in-2018/

Malthouse: Nowhere In The Country Will Be ‘Untouched By Construction’

“No part of the country, in theory, will be untouched by construction.” That’s according to Housing Minister Kit Malthouse, speaking at the 2019 Local Government Association Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Conference. He added: “We want everyone who wants to be building to do so.” However, Malthouse conceded that some nations tackle certain areas of housing more effectively than the UK. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/malthouse-nowhere-in-the-country-will-be-untouched-by-construction/

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure proposed new permitted development rights do not adversely affect the quality of housing with respect to (a) size and (b) safety regulations.

Kit Malthouse: Our recent consultation, “Planning Reform: Supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes” sought views on new permitted development rights to help deliver more homes. All homes, whether granted permission through a national permitted development right or on a planning application are required to meet Building Regulations, including fire safety. We are currently considering the responses received to the consultation. Decisions will be taken in due course on the consultation proposals to be taken forward.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-04/216359

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, at what rate he estimates the UK needs to build houses in order to cope with the additional demand created by current levels of immigration.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is committed to delivering the right homes in the right places. We are making progress, and latest figures show over 222,000 new homes were delivered in 2017/18 in England - the highest level of new homes delivered in all but one of the last 31 years. But we are determined to do more in order to deliver the homes communities need. That is why we have set out an ambitious package of measures to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. These measures include over £44 billion of financial support, planning reforms and scrapping housing revenue account borrowing caps so councils can deliver a new generation of council housing.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-12-20/204387

Affordable Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November to Question 186185 on Affordable Housing, what proportion of the new affordable homes to be delivered by the Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.

James Brokenshire: The £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver at least 250,000 homes by March 2022. At least 12,500 of these will be for social rent outside of London. The Greater London Authority have the flexibility to deliver social rent in London.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-11-13/190775

Housing Crisis ‘As Much About Lack Of Skilled Workers As Homes’

Welcoming confirmation of ‘live’ construction training on 26 sites across the country, Homes England (HE) chief executive Nick Walkley says the housing crisis is as much about a lack of skilled construction workers as it is about a lack of homes. New ‘hubs’ based at live construction sites will train up thousands of workers and help tackle skills shortages. The Department for Education has announced 26 partnerships nationwide have won a share of the £22m Construction Skills Fund to set up to fund the hubs. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-crisis-as-much-about-lack-of-skilled-workers-as-homes/

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many potential homes are included but not yet started under existing planning permissions; and what proportion of the total are on sites for 50 or more dwellings.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: On 30 June 2018, there were 748,000 homes with full planning permission, of which 431,000 were on projects which had started on site, and 317,000 had yet to start on site. Of these 748,000 homes, 86 per cent are on sites of 50 or more dwellings.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2018-07-10/HL9381

New Home Building Has ‘Fallen Significantly’ Since EU Referendum

Construction of new homes has fallen significantly since the EU referendum.House builders are also sceptical that the government’s target of building one million new homes by 2020 will be met. A poll of more than 400 housebuilding companies in England was carried out and is published shortly after the Chancellor confirmed ambitious housebuilding targets in the Budget. The survey shows just 38% of respondents had increased their rate of house building over the last year.  This compares to 50% of house builders when asked the same question in a previous survey in May 2016 before the EU referendum. Read more on 24housing.