Housing, Communities and Local Government
- The Secretary of State was asked—
Local House Building Targets: Affordability Assessment
- 1. If he will review the methodology for assessing housing affordability used to set local house building targets.
- The Government are committed to building the new homes people need so that we can end the housing crisis that we inherited. The method for calculating local housing need aligns with the Government’s ambition for 1.5 million new homes over the course of this Parliament. That reflects affordability, and there are no plans to change it.
- I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his response. The housing formula has resulted in huge increases for parts of rural England, including a doubling of the number in my East Hampshire constituency, and it should be reviewed overall. However, this question is about one specific aspect, whereby in an unintended way, the mix of housing that is being delivered might be skewed. I have written to the Secretary of State’s colleague, the Minister for Housing and Planning, and all I ask is that the Department looks at that with an open mind and considers it fully.
- I am always happy to listen to suggestions from the right hon. Gentleman and ensure that he gets a response. I reassure him that housing targets reflect the baseline of local housing stock, but I will ensure that he gets the letter he has requested.
House Building: London
- 2. What discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the rate of house building in London.
- The Mayor of London and I discussed the rate of house building in London as soon as I came into office at the beginning of September last year. House building in London is flatlining because the previous Government failed to take action when it was clear that it was happening from 2023 right across the country. Last October, the mayor and I launched a joint stimulus package to increase house building in London, and we and our teams remain in regular contact to ensure that we can get on and build the new housing that Londoners need.
New Homes
- 3. What recent progress his Department has made on delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament.
- This Government inherited a housing crisis, with the sector flatlining nationally since 2023. In October, the Mayor of London and I launched a joint package to speed up house building in London. In December, the Minister for Housing and Planning launched a consultation on reforms to the national planning policy framework to increase housing supply, including moving to a default “yes” to applications near railway stations. All of that will increase house building and help us to achieve our targets during this Parliament.