Policy Liaison Group on Housing Market & Housing Delivery

You can find below our Key Takeaways from our event with Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Minister for Housing & Local Government. Once again, we would like to thank Baroness Sharon Taylor for kindly giving us her time, as well as to all our advisory board members and attendees for their interest and questions.

This afternoon the much anticipated Planning & Infrastructure Bill will be laid before Parliament. The Bill promises a slate of reforms which will speed up housebuilding, reduce inefficiencies in the system, and deliver the homes and infrastructure the country needs. Key measures announced so far include changes to planning committees, the creation of a Nature Restoration Fund, the introduction of spatial development strategies in England, and an improved regime for NSIPs. Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, said: "These reforms are at the heart of our Plan for Change, ensuring we are backing the builders, taking on the blockers, and delivering the homes and infrastructure this country so badly needs." https://lnkd.in/evYTW8a3

Today, the Policy Liaison Group on Housing Market & Housing Delivery convened a roundtable discussion on the road to delivering 1.5 million homes, with keynote speaker The Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Minister for Housing & Local Government at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to this ambitious target, highlighting key efforts including: 🏡 Investment in affordable housing, with additional funding secured to support delivery. 🔧 Planning reform and infrastructure alignment, aimed at unlocking stalled developments. 🛠️ Skills and workforce development, ensuring the industry has the capacity to build at scale. 🌍 Sustainability in new housing, prioritising modern construction methods and environmental standards. The discussion also addressed the critical challenges facing the sector—from planning delays to financial viability concerns—reinforcing the need for collaboration between government and industry to ensure delivery. A huge thank you to Baroness Taylor for joining us and to all attendees both online and in-person for contributing to a vital conversation on the future of housing in the UK.

The Government today published its Commonhold White Paper, a document marking the beginning of the Government's plans to end leasehold tenures in the UK. Commonhold, unlike leasehold, gives the homeowner full property ownership rights, provides greater flexibility on development rights and will give mortgage lenders greater assurances on stakes in buildings. On the reforms, Minister for Housing & Planning, Matthew Pennycook MP, said: “By taking decisive steps to reinvigorate commonhold and make it the default tenure, we will ensure that it is homeowners, not third-party landlords, who will own the buildings they live in and have a greater say in how their home is managed and the bills they pay." https://lnkd.in/epx4u4b8

Pleased to be able to share our key takeaways from our roundtable earlier this week on S106 agreements and affordable housing delivery. Grateful, again, to our panellists Annie Gingell, Gareth Turner MRICS and Emma Ramell for helping us put together such a meaningful and constructive discussion.

📣 Next week, we are looking forward to hosting our next roundtable with Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Minister for Housing & Local Government at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This event will provide an opportunity to discuss the challenges to delivering housing at the scale required and learn more about HM Government's progress to build 1.5 million homes, and the whole host of reforms that have been introduced to get us on the right trajectory to meet that target.

🏡 Roundtable on S106 and Affordable Housing Delivery This morning, we hosted a roundtable chaired by Danny Beales MP to discuss the challenges of delivering affordable housing through Section 106 (S106) agreements with developers, housing associations, and policy experts. Solving the delivery of affordable housing is critical as there are over 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists, with temporary accommodation costs soaring to £2.3 billion a year. Yet, thousands of S106 units are sitting empty due to funding constraints and structural barriers. Thanks to former Housing & Planning Minister, Lord Young of Cookham, for joining us. Huge thanks also to our panellists, Emma Ramell, Annie Gingell and Gareth Turner MRICS for their thought-provoking contributions to the meeting - and to participants both in-person and online. Stay tuned for the key takeaways from the meeting!

You can find below our Key Takeaways from our roundtable discussion last week with the Radix Housing Commission. It was a great discussion with a distinguished panel, and we look forward to seeing the Commission's successes continue. With thanks as always to our chairs, panellists and attendees, for making it such a robust discussion.

We are looking forward to hosting our next roundtable looking into S106 and the delivery of affordable housing tomorrow. This event will explore whether the current system is fit for purpose, with delays, viability challenges, and the evolving policy landscape contributing to a significant decline in the number of affordable homes coming forward. The meeting will be chaired by Danny Beales MP, with panellists Annie Gingell, Gareth Turner MRICS and Emma Ramell joining us to advance the discussion.

🏘️ Yesterday, we had the privilege of hosting a thought-provoking roundtable in Parliament with the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission. The meeting brought together parliamentarians and actors from across the housing space to discuss the Commission's recent report 'Beyond the Permacrisis – Delivering 1,000 Homes a Day' and how best HM Government can ensure we hit the 1.5 million homes target by the end of this parliament. The discussion was rich, insightful, and action-oriented, with a shared commitment to addressing the UK’s housing challenges. A huge thank you to parliamentarians Charlie Banner (Lord Banner KC) for chairing the session and the Liberal Democrats Spokesperson for Housing & Planning, Gideon Amos OBE MP, for joining us. Thanks also to our panellists from the Commission: Alexandra Notay, Hon MRTPI, Ben Rich, Elsie Owusu OBE RA, Andrew Taylor FRTPI, Catriona Riddell, Vicky Pryce and Doreen Wright for their contributions.