On 12 May 2017, Christine Whitehead presented at the Westminster Social Policy Forum seminar titled Policy priorities for housing in England – planning finance, and delivery. The seminar discussed wide ranging issues such as the future for policy on planning, affordable rent, and increasing the supply of new homes. Speakers were asked to consider initiatives to prioritise the building of new homes where they are thought to be needed most, proposals for councils to develop local plans, Brexit’s impact on the housing market, and major issues in social housing.

Christine’s presentation, titled The Policy Landscape and Housing Sector Trends (click here to download the PPT presentation), provides an overview of policies and trends in social housing and the housing market at large. She highlights the change in branding from Housing policy to New Housing Policy and the Housing market to New Housing market, noting that current aspirations, across political divides, are well below assessed requirements. The biggest trend, she argues, has been ‘away from owner-occupation (68% in 2007; 62% in 2016) towards private renting (14% to 20% a 50% increase in stock) – despite policies that have consistently supported homeownership’. She also covers issues like planning, delivery, finance, and other concerns – not least of which is the question of whether housing really is the political priority that we pretend. Along these lines, she also argues that ‘fixing a broken housing market’ cannot be done by simply concentrating on new build.

Click here to download the PPT presentation.