Are Andy Burnham’s affordable homes plans a ‘council housing revolution’ or a ‘massive backtrack’?

The government has announced nearly £10bn of the £39 billion social and affordable homes programme has been allocated, promising the 10-year funding will help families trapped in temporary accommodation.

The programme was announced at last year’s spending review to much praise, offering a significant increase on the previous investment in affordable homes as Labour chased delivering 1.5 million homes while in power.

Meanwhile, Andy Burnham promised a council house revolution as PM. He said: “Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again.”

Here’s what we learned from the initial allocation.

1. It should finally get spades in the ground

The first allocations of the social and affordable homes programme will deliver 70,000 homes, prioritising the most affordable and in-demand social rent homes. That’s not enough – analysis from Shelter has long warned that 90,000 social rent homes are needed each year to address social housing waiting lists of 1.3 million households. But it’s a start: demolitions and sell offs meant last year we saw a net loss of nearly 4,000 social homes across England.

Housing secretary Angela Rayner, who recently spoke to Big Issue about her own experiences growing up living in a council home, said: “Families can’t be left raising children without a place to call home, and none of us should spend years waiting for somewhere safe and affordable to live. 

“I know how important fixing this is – because I’ve been there. A safe and secure home was the foundation for a better life – I couldn’t have got to where I have today without it. 

“That’s why the prime minister and I are doing everything we can to get councils building once again – it’s fundamental to turning the housing crisis around, helping families out of temporary accommodation and into a secure home.” 

2. There’s a trade-off between volume and the number of social homes

The programme relies on housing associations to build homes with Burnham, so far, not opting to introduce a state-backed housebuilder.

But delivering social rent homes, which are typically rented out at below 60% of market rate, is more costly for housing associations and that means fewer homes.

Marcus Dixon, UK head of living and residential research at JLL, said: “Some may be disappointed that more homes will not be delivered at social rent levels. But the reality is that social rented homes cost more to deliver and, at 100% social rent, ambitions around overall delivery numbers do not align with the funding available. This means the 60% allocation may be a more realistic route to increasing supply than delivering all homes at social rent, at least in the short term.”

Dixon added that prioritising homes to lift households out of temporary accommodation “should be applauded” but challenges remain.

“Viability challenges, a shrinking construction workforce and sluggish sales rates for new developments, particularly in London where housing need is most acute, will constrain delivery, whether affordable housing or private sale,” Dixon added.

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3. Mayors will have a huge role to play 

Much like Burnham’s devolution push across the rest of the government, mayors will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the social and affordable homes programme in their regions.

Established mayoral strategic authorities will be tasked with ensuring investment reflects local priorities.

More than £2bn of the £10bn allocated so far will be available to spend in mayoral areas outside of London with more funding to follow.

The Greater London Authority intends to offer at least £6bn through the programme, with councils expected to deliver more than half of the homes funded in London.

Allocations in London under the programme will happen in coming months.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Tackling the housing crisis is one of my top priorities and I’m doing everything I can to deliver more affordable homes that Londoners desperately need. We’ve built record numbers of council homes in London, but the number of families and children without a permanent home stuck on housing waiting lists is still unacceptable.

“I want to work with this new government to deliver a step change in how many council homes we can deliver across the capital. 

“Thousands of Londoners will benefit from this new wave of new social and affordable homes, which will help people out of temporary accommodation and provide good, affordable homes to live in for the long-term, as we build a fairer, better London for everyone.” 

4. This is not the council house revolution Burnham promised

The Green Party has accused Burnham of a “massive backtrack” as just three of the programme’s ‘strategic partners’ are councils. That means just 2,811 of the homes will be council homes in this allocation, around 3.8%. Green MP Hannah Spencer said: “This is a massive backtrack by Andy Burnham who made a clear pledge to dedicate the £39bn affordable homes programme to building desperately needed council housing.

“It is another missed opportunity to provide the genuinely affordable housing that is so desperately needed.

“I hear from so many people who are stuck on waiting lists, living in temporary accommodation or who are homeless. Andy Burnham is continuing to let these people down.”

However, housebuilders had been waiting a while for the programme’s first allocations to be made so it’s likely Burnham chose to sign off on the plans now to avoid further delay.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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