Housing targets reinstated in first speech by new Chancellor

In the first speech by the new Chancellor, the Right Hon. Rachel Reeves, she confirmed that housing targets are to be reinstated.

The Labour Party has reintroduced housing targets, as it targets the construction of 1.5 million homes in England over the course of the next parliament.

The party is looking to encourage investment from the private sector.

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor, said:

“We need the private sector to build homes.

“We’re not going to be in the business of building those homes directly.

“We need the construction sector; the housebuilding sector, to build those homes.”

She added that the party will target both affordable and social housing, with deputy PM Angela Rayner taking an interventionist approach to achieving the right housing mix.

Labour is also planning to review green belt boundaries in a bid to establish the ‘grey belt’ – poor quality areas of green belt land.

The party has pledged to recruit more planning officers to speed up the planning process.

Rick de Blaby, chief executive of Get Living, said:

“Chancellor Rachel Reeves has wasted no time in setting out her stall for tackling the UK’s housing crisis.

“We welcome the steps already being put in place to allow the industry to deliver sought-after homes at a far greater speed, and unlock significant projects that, to date, have been hindered by a planning system that is quite simply not fit for purpose.

“We echo the Chancellor’s views that the UK is a place where people should want to do business.

“If we are going to have any chance at making a meaningful dent in the housing crisis, attracting significant levels of private capital is essential.

“Recent estimations suggest £250bn worth of global capital is needed over the next seven years for rental housing alone.

“The build-to-rent industry, backed by long-term investors, has an important role in making this happen, bringing forward not only the market rental homes that are in such high demand, but also significant levels of affordable homes.

“We await an update on how the new government will take forward the Renters Reform Bill but any future legislation will need to balance the need to attract the scale of global capital required with important safeguards for residents.

“With close collaboration from investors, the private sector and a proactive government, there is no reason why we shouldn’t get Britain building again across all tenures, ensuring that more people are able to enjoy a better quality of life here in the UK.

“We look forward to seeing these plans develop at speed.”

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