Northern Housing Consortium

Read our analysis of what the Budget means for housing in the North in our on-the-day briefing. It covers housing supply, rent settlements, planning, local authority finance, devolution, green homes and much more. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eF2hJHAX

We’re pleased that there’s been a strong focus on housing in the Labour Government’s first budget, recognising the importance of a home that everyone can afford. There are some good first steps: the £500m top-up to the Affordable Homes Programme will help our members continue to build social homes, and changes to Right to Buy should make it easier to increase the number of council homes available for those that need them. There are lots of positives but there is much more to do before we will see a real impact in communities across the North, our Chief Executive Tracy Harrison explains below.

Big day today! Look out for our on-the-day briefing sent to all Northern Housing Consortium members later today. Then tomorrow I'm delighted to be joining some illustrious company in Joanne Drew and Nicholas Harris to unpack what it all means for the housing sector on the Inside Housing post-Budget webinar.

Want to know what tomorrow's #AutumnBudget means for the housing sector? Tune in to Inside Housing webinar on Thursday to hear from our Patrick Murray as he reflects on the new government's first budget.

Our Tom Kennedy is in Inside Housing today sharing insights from our recent report 'Warm Homes, Green Jobs', including the benefits of aligning funding and policy for energy efficiency and housing quality. ⬇ https://lnkd.in/erpEQtTY

Read our response to the announcements thus far (and if you're an Northern Housing Consortium member, dont forget to look out for our usual 'On The Day Briefing' hitting your inbox tomorrow - we'll cover everything you need to know about the Budget from a housing perspective).

In tomorrow’s Autumn Budget, the government will launch a consultation on a new five-year social housing rent settlement, reduce Right to Buy discounts and unveil £500m in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP). Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation; Rachael Williamson CIHM, head of policy and external affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing; Fiona Fletcher Smith, chair of The G15 and chief executive of L&Q; Tracy Harrison, chief executive of the Northern Housing Consortium; and Clare Miller, chief executive of Clarion Housing Group, comment on the news. https://lnkd.in/eJVF9GRJ #UKhousing #HousingFinance #AutumnBudget #SocialHousing

Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves has confirmed a £500m top-up for the Affordable Homes Programme and a five-year rent settlement for social housing providers. James Riding reports, with sector reaction from Kate Henderson at the National Housing Federation, Rachael Williamson CIHM at the Chartered Institute of Housing, Clare Miller at Clarion Housing Group, Cllr Kieron Williams at Southwark Council, Tracy Harrison at the Northern Housing Consortium, Charlie Nunn at Lloyds Banking Group, Louise Gittens at the Local Government Association and Darren Baxter at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) https://lnkd.in/etGWG8WD #UKhousing #SocialHousing #UKgovernment #Budget #AutumnBudget

Over the weekend Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed a series of housing-related funding and policy announcements. These included a £500m top to the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), a five-year rent settlement with a consultation on potential alternatives, and changes to the Right to Buy scheme. Our chief executive Tracy Harrison responded to the announcements, saying: “The £500m top-up for the Affordable Homes Programme will mean our members can continue building and is something we advocated for strongly in the run-up to the Budget. A 5-year CPI+1% rent settlement (with a consultation including a ten-year option) will give housing providers more certainty to plan investment. Changes to Right-to-Buy should help stem the loss of social homes. “These are all great first steps, but there’s lots of work to do to in the run-up to the Spending Review and through the rent consultation. Our members need long-term financial certainty to improve the quality of existing homes, including making them warmer and greener, and to deliver new homes on the scale required to meet government ambitions. “At the NHC we’ll strongly advocate for investment that supports delivery in the North where regeneration matters, and HMT value-for-money rules (and their narrow interpretation) have too often locked out much needed projects. Deepening devolution, with more local control over funding, will make sure government funds make the biggest possible difference to communities in the North.” Read more about the announcements here: https://lnkd.in/ec9yci6G