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The Jenrick vs McVey spat is unnecessary – both agendas are important
The housing minister and housing secretary are reported to be pulling in opposite directions, with the former favouring council housing investment and the latter help for first-time buyers. They should do both, writes Victor da Cunha
A recently reported spat suggests that there may be tensions between housing secretary Robert Jenrick and housing minister Esther McVey about whether the government should focus housing investment on first-time buyers or providing funding for social or what some call council housing.
First let me say that if we can secure political stability and both Mr Jenrick and Ms McVey keep their current posts, that would be a refreshing and helpful first step; political stability in housing has been missing for far too long and is much needed. Fingers crossed that the February reshuffle doesn’t signal yet another change at the housing helm.
That aside, I think the core proposition in this alleged dispute has to be challenged because it suggests that one investment decision is more important than the other. It is not.
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For far too many years we’ve been asked to consider binary housing policies: we must either opt for investment in homeownership or plump for an affordable rental programme. But at no time in the past 100 years has this county had a model without both.
True, the proportions have fluctuated between the two, but we have had new homes for sale and homes for rent in the market place all the time and generally with high demand for both.
The National Housing Federation and Crisis released figures in 2018 that showed we need to build 300,000 homes each year and that 145,000 of these need to be affordable in some way – whether that is social rented, affordable rented or shared ownership. These figures are generally not disputed by the informed.
Of course the balance of 155,000 needs to be made up of homes for sale. This is right as there’s a substantial market and need for that too, but the two are not in opposition, they form part of the entire supply need.
On that basis, it is not a binary problem that needs solving. It’s not a homeownership versus affordable housing challenge that needs addressing.
We don’t have a single issue housing crisis, we don’t have one national housing need, we don’t even have one affordability challenge – we have a range of housing system failures, spread right across the country.
Given that is the case, we cannot and should not prioritise one housing problem over the other – each affects a broad (and significant) range of people, all of whom need a place to call home.
The affordability challenges of the South may not be the same as the regeneration and infrastructure challenges of the North but both are very real – they affect people equally and prevent them from engaging fully in society and hinder the economic prosperity of the country.
Late last year, the National Housing Federation called on government to make a step change in social housing investment over the next 10 years – pushing up grant and housing investment to £12.8bn each year so that we can break the back of historic supply shortages.
“We cannot and should not prioritise one housing problem over the other – each affects a broad (and significant) range of people, all of whom need a place to call home”
In all regions investment is key. When I recently gave evidence to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government select committee I confirmed that Homes for the South West recognised the National Housing Federation figures: in our region alone that means delivering 42,000 new homes each year – 15,000 of which must be affordable in some way.
My message to Mr Jenrick and Ms McVey is this: there is no need to disagree. You are both right. We need determined, long-term leadership that invests in both first-time buyers and affordable housing – addressing as it does the granular regional housing challenges which evidently exist.
Investing in a balanced, thoughtful, long-term way to tackle the regional housing challenges will serve us all well.
Having agreed this, perhaps more time can now be spent putting together the business case to Sajid Javid, because directing a large slug of his long-awaited infrastructure funding into housing seems to be the sort of investment step change all sensible commentators and people in housing need want to see.
We can but hope that’s where the energy will be spent and focus will be applied.
Victor da Cunha, chief executive, Curo
