Submission to government 2025 Spending Review
10 February 2025
"With an ambitious approach to regeneration, housing associations can restore pride and belonging to places ‘left behind,’ and improve people’s homes and quality of life, the environment, the public realm, and the health of local people.”
PlaceShapers’ submission to the government’s 2025 Spending Review sets out how our members can contribute as fully as possible to the ambition to build 1.5 million homes and support a decade of national renewal through an ambitious programme of housing-led regeneration.
Catherine Ryder, chief executive of PlaceShapers, said: “Government recognition of the housing crisis, the role of housing in driving economic growth, and support for social housing, is welcome.
“However, if the government want to deliver on their ambition to build 1.5 million homes over this Parliament, they need a strong, resilient and confident social housing sector contributing as fully as possible to the development of new homes.
“A repeat of the current Affordable Homes Programme, which has stretched the development capacity of the sector to its limits, will not be enough. It will require a step-change in both the size of the programme and the level of grant in the programme.
“This would create massive savings to the housing benefit bill as more people come out of expensive private rented housing and ease pressure on local authority budgets, which are being stretched to their limits by having to house people in expensive short-term temporary accommodation.
“It would deliver long-term economic benefits as more people, including the 150,000 children who currently live in temporary accommodation, move into decent affordable homes. These provide a firm foundation for life, improving educational attainment and the nation’s physical and mental health.”
“We also urge the government to consider the role that housing-led regeneration can play in making the commitment to a decade of national renewal a reality. With an ambitious approach to regeneration, housing associations can restore pride and belonging to places ‘left behind,’ and improve people’s homes and quality of life, the environment, the public realm, and the health of local people.”
PlaceShapers sets out five ways housing associations can support the government’s ambitions on housing, economic growth and national renewal:
- Increase investment in the Affordable Homes Programme and ensure the funding is targeted to the different outcomes needed in different places.
- Provide higher grant rates in the Affordable Homes Programme to allow homes to be built for social rent.
- Fund housing-led regeneration so estates and communities can be made fit for the future and to improve outcomes for the people who live there.
- Provide additional funding to meet new and changing expectations on the sector, including to improve energy efficiency and meet any new Decent Homes Standard.
- Confirm a long-term social housing rent settlement of CPI+1% and reintroduce rent convergence.
With the right support, our members can:
- Build new homes that meet need and address the crisis in temporary accommodation, drive economic growth, and save tax-payers money.
- Lead housing-regeneration projects that restore pride and belonging to places ‘left behind’ and create vibrant resilient communities where people want to live.
- Enable solutions to the climate crisis, reduce costs for residents, and help meet the country’s net-zero target by improving energy efficiency and decarbonising our existing homes.
- Help ease entrenched poverty and long-term unemployment by providing the support residents need to weather the cost-of-living crisis and access training and employment opportunities.