Chartered Institute of Housing 2020: Housing Minister's speech
Speech by Housing Minister the Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP at the Chartered Institute of Housing's Housing 2020 Festival.
Introduction
Thank you very much for that kind introduction.
It바카라 사이트™s a pleasure to be addressing you virtually today at the Housing 2020 Festival.
바카라 사이트¦And I바카라 사이트™d like to thank the Chartered Institute of Housing for bringing together such a diverse group of leaders from across local government and the housing industry during these truly unprecedented times.
COVID-19 has challenged our society, our economy and our country in so many different ways.
But the British people have also shown incredible resilience and bravery바카라 사이트¦.
바카라 사이트¦From the doctors, nurses and NHS staff who have worked selflessly since the start of this pandemic to our carers, teachers, and frontline workers in local government protecting the most vulnerable in our communities.
I also want to recognise everything that housing associations and social landlords have done to continue to meet their residents바카라 사이트™ needs in the challenging circumstances of the past few months 바카라 사이트“ not least in delivering vital support to vulnerable people.
Businesses from across the country, supported by a £160 billion fiscal response from government, have also risen to the enormous challenges before them.
That includes the construction sector who answered the government바카라 사이트™s call in March to manufacture more ventilators as well as the wider house-building industry who have played a critical role in helping the country embrace the 바카라 사이트˜new normal바카라 사이트™ as we shift from response to recovery together.
The local lockdowns we바카라 사이트™ve seen in Leicester, Preston and Manchester underscore our collective need to stay alert and remain vigilant over the coming weeks and months, especially as winter approaches.
And as a government, we will continue to stand by the vulnerable and those who have been hard-hit financially and personally by this pandemic.
Homelessness and evictions ban
Nearly 15,000 vulnerable people, including rough sleepers and the homeless, were housed in emergency accommodation at the start of this pandemic.
And we are building on these achievements through funding longer-term accommodation 바카라 사이트“ 3,300 homes this year alone 바카라 사이트“ along with tailored support so as few people as possible return to life on the streets.
Last month, we also announced additional protections for renters with a further stay on all housing possession proceedings바카라 사이트¯in court.
That means that바카라 사이트¯no action to progress new바카라 사이트¯or바카라 사이트¯existing claims for possession can be progressed for several weeks.바카라 사이트¯
Thanks to new legislation we brought forward in August, landlords are also required바카라 사이트¯to give 6바카라 사이트¯months바카라 사이트™ notice바카라 사이트¯to evict any tenant (private or social) 바카라 사이트“바카라 사이트¯up from the 3 months바카라 사이트¯required by the original provisions in the바카라 사이트¯Coronavirus Act 바카라 사이트“ except in the most serious of cases.
We also recognise that there are some occasions in which it is right that landlords should be able to start progressing cases quicker.
Through working with the Master of the Rolls바카라 사이트™ working group, we바카라 사이트™ve identified these types of cases which present the most strain for landlords.
Notice periods for the most serious바카라 사이트¯circumstances, including notices in relation to anti-social behaviour and where over 6 months of rent is due, have therefore been reduced.
We are also working closely with the judiciary, legal representatives and the advisory sector to help courts offer appropriate protection for all parties once the stay on possession proceedings ends.
And we remain committed, once the urgencies of responding to this pandemic have passed, to bring forward legislation which would abolish Section 21 evictions altogether.
Our measures will ensure that struggling households in both the private and social rented sector are not forced from their homes as we head into winter, keeping them safe and preventing extra burden falling on the NHS바카라 사이트¦.
Because we cannot be complacent about the scale of the challenge ahead of us in this national recovery.
And it바카라 사이트™s right that we help families, communities and businesses to continue adapting to the 바카라 사이트˜new normal바카라 사이트™ and the realities of COVID-19바카라 사이트¦
But I also believe that we should fully utilise the coming weeks and months as a window of opportunity to lay the foundations for long-term economic growth while also building the homes this country needs.
Planning for the future white paper
For our part, we are fulfilling our promise to 바카라 사이트˜build, build, build바카라 사이트™ through a complete overhaul of our outdated and antiquated planning system.
As many of you know, last month my department announced radical new proposals for the country바카라 사이트™s planning system, so that building homes is quicker, easier and more affordable than ever before.
Our Planning for the future white paper will reduce the burdens on small builders through simplifying the planning process and reducing its associated risks, delays and costs.
We are also rapidly accelerating the planning process by going digital and introducing a new system for local plans based on maps and data 바카라 사이트“ not the 500-page, inaccessible planning documents of old.
I am keen to continue working closely with local authorities and the wider housing sector to make sure our proposed reforms work for everyone and that we get this right.
However, today, I want to directly address 3 myths that have surfaced in response to our planning reforms.
The first is the ill-founded criticism that our changes will diminish local decision-making.
Actually, our reforms will ensure consultation with local communities from the very beginning of the planning process.
Land will be designated into 1 of 3 categories 바카라 사이트“ for growth, for renewal or for protection.
I want to be clear 바카라 사이트“ local communities will play a central role in deciding the future of their areas, helping plan where development should go, what standard it should be and what it should look and feel like.
Far from removing communities from the planning process, these reforms inject greater democratic involvement into the system.
We want communities to have their say on setting the plan, rather than reacting to individual applications too late in the process.
This clarity at the plan stage will also provide certainty for developers who will know what is likely to be agreed before making an application.
It also encourages all parties to engage in more strategic, proactive planning rather than the tactical, reactive, rear-guard responses that we바카라 사이트™ve seen too often in the past.
The second baseless charge levelled at our reforms is that they sweep away environmental protections for the countryside and undermine the green belt.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Our local plan policies require developers to commit themselves to providing 바카라 사이트“ and funding 바카라 사이트“ a vast array of green infrastructure including whole new parks, green roofs, bee bricks and even the planting of community orchards.
Our reforms will ensure that all new streets will be tree-lined 바카라 사이트“ allowing future development to mirror some of the world바카라 사이트™s most iconic and beautiful examples of integrating nature into urban design 바카라 사이트“ from the Heerstrasse of Bonn in Germany to the Champs-Elysees of Paris.
And on environmental assessments, we want to find a better way of assessing the impact of development on the environment, but we are categorically not weakening any of the existing protections, including our policies on the green belt.
The final myth that바카라 사이트™s surfaced around our proposed planning reform is the unfounded charge that we risk 바카라 사이트˜levelling down바카라 사이트™ our urban areas with too much focus on the South East and too little in the North of England.
Our longer-term proposals prevent the amount of available land being a barrier to building the homes communities need through prioritising brownfield first and directing development to existing urban areas.
They will result in an overall increase in the number of homes being built across the whole country while delivering more houses in the least affordable areas.
When assessing housing need, we are taking bold action which will see enough바카라 사이트¯homes built in the places where people and communities need them.바카라 사이트¯바카라 사이트¯
That바카라 사이트™s why we are proposing revising the number of homes authorities should plan for.
The proposals in our housing need consultation will increase the supply of land available for new homes to address affordability pressures, support economic growth and foster a more competitive housing market.
They place a much greater emphasis on affordability because, as a general rule, the least affordable places are those where supply has simply not kept up with demand.
And this has also resulted in people being prevented from living where they most want to.
Our proposals fix this problem by equipping councils with the tools they need to build homes where the economy says they are needed the most 바카라 사이트“ where prices are higher and, in many cases, becoming worse.
Our standard method also identifies the minimum number of homes that a council should plan for without setting a target.
This means that decisions about where homes go will not be made by central government, but by local people who know their areas best.바카라 사이트¯
In Planning for the future, we are also consulting on proposals for a binding local housing requirement, but we are clear that this would take account of local constraints and needs, including protecting the green belt and maximising existing opportunities in towns and cities.
Lord Agnew and Land Release Fund
However, we also have to accept that if we are to build the homes this country needs, we need to make sure that enough land is released in the right places.바카라 사이트¯바카라 사이트¯
At least 6% of all freehold land in England and Wales is owned by public sector organisations.
And around two-thirds of that land is owned by local바카라 사이트¯government.바카라 사이트¯
The release of surplus local government land바카라 사이트¯for housing can, and should, play a more significant role in delivering new homes whilst generating receipts that local authorities can then use to바카라 사이트¯reinvest in public services.바카라 사이트¯
Our Land Release Fund is supporting 36 local authorities to바카라 사이트¯do exactly that and it바카라 사이트™s already taking forward 73바카라 사이트¯housing projects to release land for more than 6,000 new homes.
The One Public Estate Programme 바카라 사이트“ a collaboration between MHCLG, the Cabinet Office and바카라 사이트¯the Local 바카라 사이트 Association 바카라 사이트“ is another example of how we are supporting councils to deliver ambitious property-focused projects.
Since 2013, One Public Estate has contributed to the release of land for more than 14,000 homes but we know that we can go much further and much faster which is why we바카라 사이트™ll be working on strengthening these programmes in the coming weeks and months.
Conclusion
Through the reforms I바카라 사이트™ve outlined today, we will dramatically ramp up housing supply while delivering on our manifesto commitment to build a million new houses within the term of this Parliament.
바카라 사이트¦Because boosting supply locally is certainly not a matter of chance.
Council leaders and chief executives don바카라 사이트™t just put a coin in a policy slot machine, pull the lever and wish for a local plan that delivers the right homes in the right places.
It takes hard work and strategic thought.
We want to help councils make full use of the tools they have at their disposal to unlock development at a local level - whether that be regenerating brownfield land, repurposing empty commercial property or releasing their own public land to the market.
And we won바카라 사이트™t shy away from strengthening national initiatives such as our Affordable Homes Programme to help councils meet their housing demands while also creating new homes of all tenures; I know the Secretary of State will speak in more depth about this when he addresses this Festival.
Through a concerted effort from national and local government, we will 바카라 사이트˜build, build, build바카라 사이트™ while alleviating some of the worst affordability challenges that have held back our housing market for far too long.
In doing so, we will create the right economic conditions for our nation바카라 사이트™s builders and developers to 바카라 사이트˜build back바카라 사이트™ stronger and more resilient than ever before.
Thank you.