Construction industry welcomes UK Government’s ‘ambitious’ £39bn social housing plan, but calls for quality and infrastructure alongside volume

Deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner’s new plan includes a target that at least 60 per cent of these homes will be for social rent, offering relief for families, including more than 165,000 children, who are “trapped” in temporary accommodation.

This would mean delivering around 180,000 homes – six times more than the decade up to 2024.

Homes England – the government’s housing and regeneration agency – will be responsible for delivering the majority, up to 30 per cent of funding  – to £11.7 billion over the 10 years in London.     

With the hope the long-term nature of the strategy will also offer more certainty for developers to invest and plan, compared to the previous five-year £12.3 billion 2021-2026 programme.

It promises to modernise safety and energy efficiency standards while reinvigorating council housebuilding, unlocking jobs, and strengthening regulatory frameworks and has been praised by industry leaders.

However they stress that quality, sustainability, and long-term community value must be central to the delivery

Kate Jennings, chief executive officer at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), called the investment a “generational opportunity”.

However, she urged the government to prioritise design and transport and social infrastructure alongside volume to create resilient communities and reduce future retrofit costs.

“Essential to this is government-backed social housing that provides places of character and low-carbon performance with social and transport infrastructure as the guiding spine,” she said.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors chief executive officer, Justin Young welcomed the focus on quality, especially the update to the Decent Homes Standard and introduction of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.

“This should lower bills for some of the most financially vulnerable and reduce carbon emissions,” he said, praising the government’s “fully-fledged vision” for social housing transformation.

Meanwhile, James Bradbury, group director of growth and development of housing association Stonewater, described the announcement as a “bold goal” to transform lives and communities.

“We’re proud of our track record delivering high-quality, sustainable homes and are ready to play our part in this national effort,” he said.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, emphasised the sector’s readiness to deliver the ambitious targets and welcomed consultations on rent convergence and updated housing standards.

“The government’s announcements today put in place the building blocks needed to deliver a decade of social housing renewal,” she said.

“The scale of the ambition is clear, and it’s enormously welcome to see that 60 per cent of the new social and affordable homes programme will be for social rent, offering real hope to those at the sharp end of the housing crisis.”

The major “intervention package” aims to drive the government’s Plan for Change mission to build 1.5 million homes and deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.

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