East of England Housing Delivery Group welcomes the £39bn investment in affordable and social housing announced in the Spending Review, as a key turning point for building the homes that so many people need across our region.
The East of England Housing Delivery Group responds to announcements made in the government’s Spending Review and implications for the region.
The Chancellor’s announcement of £39 billion for a new Affordable Homes Programme for the next 10 years, to build new homes for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership, marks a major boost for housebuilding in the East of England, in the context of stark financial pressures.
This significant level of funding goes towards what the East of England Housing Delivery Group has been calling for, and will make huge strides in delivering the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million new homes, an estimated 250,000 of which is in the East of England, where we have an urgent need for the delivery of at least 94,000 affordable homes. We must now ensure that a fair proportion of this funding benefits communities in the region.
The announcement of an additional 10-year social housing rent settlement from 2026 enabling social housing providers to raise rents by 1% above inflation year on year throughout this period, a recommendation made by the group, is welcomed. This will provide the much-needed financial certainty for local councils and housing associations to build social homes at the scale needed in our region.
These announcements, together with the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, will help deliver the homes needed by more than 94,000 households on local council waiting lists in the region, and start to alleviate both the financial and human costs of homelessness and overcrowding in the region.
We look forward to the publication of the government’s consultation on rent convergence as soon as possible. This is critical to improving the financial capacity of social landlords to build and manage healthy and sustainable homes.
The commitment to address high home energy costs through £13.2 billion for the Warm Homes Plan is much needed to improve existing stock and maintain healthy homes. We also welcome the decision to give social housing providers the same access to government funding as private building owners.
The measures announced to seek additional private investment and support regeneration are crucial. We look forward to hearing the plans for new towns and housing around Cambridge, investing in infrastructure and land remediation, both of which are important for unlocking housing development.
The scale of the housing crisis in the region should not be underestimated. Significant challenges remain, particularly in the short term, including the need for funding reform for temporary accommodation to tackle the blight of homelessness in our communities and ease significant financial pressure on our councils, planning and construction skills, delivery of more supported housing, and stronger integration of housing, health, and social care services.
For the benefits of growth to be felt everywhere across Britain, an ambition clearly set out by the Chancellor, plans for Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation must be designed to have sustainable growth at their heart, delivering the right kind of homes in the right places. Local council budgets have been hollowed out by temporary accommodation costs, adult social care and children’s services cost pressures. Adequate funding is needed for local councils through Local Government Reorganisation.
Comprising of the region’s MPs, with representation from local councils, housing associations, private developers and health partners, this group must now work with the government to ensure this investment delivers the homes our communities need across the East of England.
Alice Macdonald, Chair of the East of England Housing Delivery Group, MP for Norwich North and Eastern Region Mission Champion, said “The Government has recognised housing as crucial infrastructure for driving economic growth and this will make a huge difference in the East of England. The scale of the opportunity for housing delivery in the region can only be achieved through partnership and collaboration.”
Cllr Jacqui Taylor, Vice Chair of the East of England Housing Delivery Group and Local Government East Lead Member for Housing and Homelessness, said “Treasury has listened to local councils and the wider housing sector. Providing financial resources and national policy levers for building genuinely affordable homes is a necessity, not only for driving economic growth, but for communities to live healthily with a high quality of life. A greater shift is now needed on funding for local councils to enable a preventative and place-based approach that will keep people safe and well in their homes.”