Building affordable homes can power dash for growth

The UK’s housing sector stands on the cusp of a new era of delivery. The government’s recent ambition to deliver around 300,000 new social and affordable homes is welcome, with £39bn pledged over the next decade, a 10-year rent settlement, and the creation of a new National Housing Bank all signalling a renewed commitment to tackling one of the country’s most pressing challenges.

- CHARLIE NUNN

These commitments follow sustained calls from across the housing sector - including from Lloyds Banking Group - for decisive action.

Over the past several years, we and many others have urged the government to set out a long-term approach to housing, backed by meaningful investment and reform. Many of the building blocks are now in place, and so the focus must shift to delivery, with the private sector and registered providers helping to turn ambition into reality.

The scale of the challenge is stark. Over 165,000 children in England alone are in temporary accommodation, and social housing construction has fallen to historic lows - with affordable housing starts dropping by 39 per cent in the past year and by 92 per cent in London alone. A generation of young people, families and individuals are being denied the stable foundation needed to build secure, fulfilling lives at home and work. Changing this will require turning policy into delivery at pace, and at scale.