Opening Remarks at the Housing Community Summit
Good morning everyone. It is an honour to participate in this year’s Housing Community Summit, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing for their kind invitation.
Being back in Liverpool is a genuine pleasure, particularly in a region known for its ambitious regeneration initiatives and a steadfast commitment to enhancing social and affordable housing provision. I would like to commend Steve Rotherham and Liam Robinson for their unwavering leadership in this crucial area.
The Current State of the Housing Market
Our housing market demonstrates resilience, and I am confident that recovery will be swift. However, as this audience is acutely aware, the current climate for housebuilding in England is undeniably challenging.
Profit margins are being squeezed by various factors, including a significant decline in interest cover and a considerable rise in the costs of building materials, exacerbated by ongoing global conflicts.
This situation presents viability challenges nationwide, with certain housing markets feeling the pressure more acutely than others. Councils and housing associations are striving to pursue ambitious development programmes while grappling with site viability issues and the urgent need to enhance the safety and quality of existing homes.
Government Support and Collaboration
The government is placing substantial demands on the sector, and we fully appreciate the delicate balancing act required to construct new social and affordable housing at scale while simultaneously improving the standard of existing properties.
Throughout the past 26 months, our government has endeavoured to work closely with you, attentively listening to your needs in order to fulfil your social purpose, and doing our utmost to meet your requests.
Today, I will assert that we have made considerable progress since taking office just over two years ago, yet I firmly believe that there is much more we can accomplish together in the coming years to ensure that councils and housing associations thrive, both independently and in collaboration, in the decade of social and affordable housing renewal that we are committed to delivering.
Reflecting on Our Achievements
It is a natural tendency to take stock of what has been achieved and to ask for more. However, I want to remind you of the substantial progress made in the past two years and two months.
Almost three years ago, I delivered a keynote address at the NHF’s National Housing Summit in Birmingham as the then Shadow Housing and Planning Minister. I recall the air of polite scepticism surrounding my speech, which included a series of bold commitments:
- Enhancing compulsory purchase powers.
- Providing long-term rent policy certainty.
- Overhauling the Right to Buy scheme to better protect existing social housing stock.
- Significantly increasing affordable housing supply.
- Prioritising social rented homes.
As you are all aware, we have not only fulfilled these commitments but have also surpassed them.
Investing in Social and Affordable Housing
In terms of grant funding, we have made the largest investment in social and affordable housing in recent history—a £39 billion ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, aiming to deliver at least 60% of homes as Social Rent. I am pleased to report that we are on track to exceed this target in the first wave of allocations announced recently.
We have also taken steps to rebuild the sector’s capacity to borrow and invest in both new and existing homes, securing a ten-year social housing rent settlement at CPI+1%, as well as ensuring equal access to government remediation funding schemes for social landlords and £2.5 billion in low-interest loans throughout this Spending Review period.
In our efforts to rejuvenate council housebuilding, we have reinstated Right to Buy maximum cash discounts to their pre-2012 levels and allowed councils to retain 100% of Right to Buy receipts. Through our Social Housing Bill, we are advancing a comprehensive reform package that will empower councils to confidently increase the delivery of new council homes.
Ensuring Quality and Standards
With regards to regulatory clarity, we have updated the Decent Homes Standard and introduced new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, implementing Awaab’s Law to ensure that standards are both ambitious and achievable, allowing social landlords to enhance housing supply while improving the quality of their existing homes.
These collective efforts have established a solid foundation for the decade of social and affordable housing renewal that we are determined to achieve.
As we look forward, it is vital to recognise that the outlook for the sector has been completely transformed over the past 26 months due to the decisions made by this government.
The Need for Continued Support
Despite our successes, I understand that councils and housing associations across the nation require additional support and funding to provide the high-quality homes and services that communities need.
We have called upon everyone involved in social and affordable housing to step up and demonstrate their capability to deliver at scale and pace. However, due to the overwhelming positive response, we have been unable to accommodate all requests.
Recently, we confirmed that Homes England is allocating over £9.5 billion to 33 Strategic Partners to deliver more than 70,000 social and affordable homes outside of London, with the Greater London Authority poised to allocate at least £6 billion in the capital.
Future Funding and Opportunities
Regrettably, the total bids received by Homes England and the GLA far exceeded the funding available in this initial wave. However, with £39 billion allocated throughout the Programme’s lifespan, there remains over £16 billion for projects outside London and approximately £5 billion for London yet to be distributed.
This funding is available in each year of this Spending Review period leading up to 2030, along with significant amounts allocated in the latter half of the Programme. We are prioritising social rented homes, particularly council homes, while also ensuring that funding is accessible for other providers.
I urge our partners to submit robust bids for specific sites, and Homes England is prepared to collaborate intensively to explore all available options.
Promoting Council Housebuilding
Given the emphasis our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has rightly placed on council housebuilding, I would like to elaborate on its benefits. Direct council delivery of social rent homes fosters democratic accountability and allows provisions to be tailored to meet local housing needs, creating public assets that generate rental income reinvested into local housing.
Historically, councils were the driving force behind social housing construction, delivering tens of thousands of social homes annually until the early 1980s when building rates declined significantly due to the constraints introduced by the Right to Buy scheme.
For this reason, we are committed to enabling councils to once again build at scale, and we are aware that many share our ambition to secure the future of council housing.
Progress and Future Goals
The measures we have implemented since taking office to revitalise council housebuilding, including providing substantial funding to enhance skills and capacity within councils, are already yielding results. In 2024/25, councils achieved the highest number of social homes built since the early 1990s.
Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that, for the first time, three councils outside London—Cambridge City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, and Newcastle City Council—have been awarded Strategic Partnership status with Homes England.
However, we must go much further. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State, and I are committed to delivering the largest council housebuilding programme since the post-war boom ended in the early 1980s.
Encouraging Collaboration Across the Sector
We are actively exploring further methods to support councils in expanding their stock of social homes, which may include low-cost borrowing options, and we have made it clear that councils will gain access to more funding from our Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
Recognising the renewed emphasis on council housebuilding, I anticipate that housing associations and other providers may have questions regarding their role. I want to assure you that private registered providers will remain essential in delivering social and affordable homes.
We greatly value your contributions to meeting housing needs and rely on you to continue advancing ambitious development plans, not only through grant-funded homes but also maximising homes built via Section 106, utilising the recently published National S106 Affordable Housing Engagement Guidance developed in collaboration with the NHF, CIH, HBF, and the LGA.
For any housing association or provider concerned about their future in a landscape where councils are building at scale, let me be clear: the revival of council housebuilding should complement, not threaten, your contributions.
Partnership Opportunities in Housing Development
Our aim is to promote greater collaboration between councils and housing associations, whether through Joint Ventures, aligning development plans, delivering new council homes through partnership models, or working closely on allocations.
We are eager to harness the potential of all sector stakeholders and welcome your ideas on effective partnership working and how government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities can further support these initiatives.
The Importance of Housing for Communities
I firmly believe that quality housing is the cornerstone of a thriving life. Safe,