The Week in Housing: Government sets out policy agenda in King’s Speech

Sector figures have welcomed the announcements and the clarity they bring for housing providers to better protect and build social housing.

However, our article listing five takeaways from the King’s Speech highlighted that concerns about gaps in the legislation and potential funding issues remain.

Meanwhile, one regular Inside Housing commentator pointed out that the policy changes are decades in the making and should “finally kill off three zombie policies that were introduced by the Conservatives 10 years ago but never implemented”.

Following the King’s Speech, housing minister Matthew Pennycook set out more details on the changes in the Social Housing Bill, which include a review into the allocation and use of social housing to reduce empty homes.

With the government reeling from local elections that saw Labour lose nearly 1,500 councillors, more than 80 MPs have so far called on prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign. There was a surge in support for Reform UK and the Green Party, as voters fled the two main parties and Labour lost control of councils it had held for decades.

Nationalist parties Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party took control in the Senedd and Holyrood. The changes in council control and new leadership in the Senedd could have a huge impact on how housing is delivered. 

Siân Gwenllian has been appointed as the new Welsh minister for local government, housing and planning. First minister Rhun ap Iorwerth announced his cabinet on Wednesday following Plaid Cymru’s historic election win last week, pushing Labour out of power for the first time in 27 years.

In an interview with Community Housing Cymru’s Stuart Ropke, Inside Housing found out about how the housing sector is planning to work with the new government.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has agreed that Homes England can provide an extension for housing starts on site under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) was also given an extension. This is in spite of an 135% increase in starts on affordable homes across the capital in the last financial year, but the GLA is still lagging behind its target range.

At the Social Housing Finance Conference on Thursday, Simon Century, chief executive of Homes England’s National Housing Bank, urged housing associations to take decisions now that unlock capacity to deliver new homes in the next few years.

The extension to development programmes comes as Southern Housing is preparing to restart new development activity as its interest cover has improved.

At the same time, house builder Vistry is expecting demand from affordable housing partners later in the year to help recover reduced profit.

In regulatory news, Jonathan Walters revealed during his first public appearance as the new chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing that he will engage with the sector on an update to the economic standards later this summer.

The English regulator also handed a non-compliant consumer grade to a London council after most of its stock had not been surveyed in over 10 years.

With the government under pressure to introduce rent control, two new reports have called for the policy to be introduced at a minimum of 2%, which could save the government £600m on the housing benefit bill.

In Scotland, a national study on tenant participation has been launched by the Scottish government and the Tenants Information Service.

It was a busy week for building safety, with a number of significant legal rulings.

A High Court judge ordered a group of companies to pay a £14.9m Building Liability Order to house builder Crest Nicholson within 14 days, rejecting its plea for more time to pay.

The government will face a first-tier tax tribunal hearing early next year over the 20% VAT charge in place on cladding and building safety works.

Plus, more than 200 residents have been moved out of a Sovereign Network Group block in London and into temporary accommodation after fire safety risks were found during remediation works.

In a separate ruling, a High Court judge found that a non-compliant provider’s attempt to claim exempt housing benefits was “taking advantage” of the system.

The government also confirmed that shared owners can be exempt from a key part of the Renters’ Rights Act, but an advocacy group has claimed the guidance has come too late.

In a major interview this week, Inside Housing spoke to the new head of AI at a London council about how artificial intelligence can be used to tackle the temporary accommodation crisis.

In our latest Board Member Briefing, we looked at how boards should make the most of collecting environmental, social and governance data.

On a positive note for Inside Housing, one of our journalists won the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Award for best writer – specialist B2B on Wednesday night and has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness.

Have a good weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: stephen.delahunty@oceanmedia.co.uk

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