Housing groups back welfare measures but call for long-term certainty
Midlands social housing groups say major challenges remain to house building, after welcoming moves to boost support for low-income families in today’s Budget.
Earlier today, Rachel Reeves unveiled her autumn Budget in what was widely perceived as a potential make-or-break moment for Kier Starmer’s Labour government.
And while most of the measures outlined had either been trailed in the lead-up to the budget, or released via an unfortunate technical error at the Office for Budgetary Responsibility an hour beforehand, the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap, a commitment to building more affordable homes and wider ambitions to “get Britain building” were all seen as as important steps towards boosting housing supply and easing pressures on struggling households.
Birmingham-based housing association Midland Heart, which owns and manages around 35,000 homes in the Midlands, said the budget contained few surprises – adding that it was now in the process of reviewing its long-term house-building plans, on the back of previous government announcements.
The group has previously stated its intention to build 2,250 homes by the year 2030, but could ramp up its long-term strategy on the back of a £39bn funding boost for the government’s affordable homes programme announced in July.
However deputy chief executive Joe Reeves says it will “carefully balance” its house-building ambitions against plans to upgrade and decarbonise its existing housing stock.
“We are committed to delivering more homes across the Midlands, modernising our existing homes in some of the most deprived wards of the region and continue to ensure all of our homes achieve an energy performance rating of C by 2030,” he said.
“However our long term plans are predicated on certainty – certainty over long term interest rates and stable inflation. This is a crucial part of our planning to assess our capacity for growth.
“For housing associations, there is a clear mandate for growth. This means stepping up to play our part, driving activity in construction, unlocking investment and delivering homes in the right locations to support local labour markets and the regional economy. House building continues to be one of the best ways for a local economy to grow.”
Meanwhile, Greame Anderson, chief executive of Bromsgrove-based bdht, welcomed a decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap in full, which he said would have a “transformational impact” on households across the region by raising living standards for thousands of low-income families.
Like Midland Heart, the group also plans to build new homes, with a target of 500 by the end of 2027, and he added that planning reforms were essential to the government’s wider plans for building 1.5m homes by the end of the current parliament.
“Significant investment means nothing if there continues to be a bottleneck in the delivery of homes,” he said.
“The announcement of £48 million for 350 new planners within the wider planning reform is another important move. We hope this will result in greater pace, allowing projects to move from concept to construction more quickly.”
He added: “The continued commitment to the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, despite the recent reshuffles, provides more positive outcomes for low-income families, of which we see many in Bromsgrove, by increasing the availability of affordable homes.”
However, both associations cautioned that the benefits of these measures could be undermined by the broader tax burden, frozen thresholds and ongoing cost-of-living pressures, which continue to risk reducing disposable income for many residents.
Energy bills, still around 40% higher than at the beginning of winter in 2021, also remain an ongoing worry for most of the population.
Dan Bebbington, debt and energy manager at Housing Plus Group, which owns and manages around 33,000 homes across Shropshire and Staffordshire, said that while scrapping the two-child Universal Credit cap would help many families, a freeze on income tax brackets could leave workers feeling “let down” by the budget.
“Overall, there are certainly things to be positive about, but huge challenges remain. We see daily the impact of the rising cost of living on our customers, and we welcome measures that reduce financial stress and improve people’s quality of life.
“We encourage anyone worried about how these changes affect them to seek advice and support.”
