Uk Shortage Of Houses In Both Scotland And England Is Critical

17th May 2024

All areas of the UK have a shortage of houses and its getting worse. Rents are soaring for private lets and mortgages are now being offered for 40 years.

Scotland
Scottish Government Failed
BBC - 15 May 2024
The Scottish government has declared a national housing emergency

England
UK Government Failed
17 May 2024
Despite the glow in this UK Government article there are not enough houses being built.

Tens of thousands of new homes delivered for communities across England
Provisional figures indicate Homes England exceeded its 2023/24 annual targets for the number of new homes started, the number of new homes completed and the scale of land unlocked for new housing - despite another challenging year for the sector.

Results also recognise Agency's progress to support the sustainable regeneration of towns and cities across England, acting as a catalyst and collaborator to unlock blockers, bring local visions to life and facilitate long term change.

Provisional figures show Homes England exceeded key government-set annual targets in 2023/24, performing strongly despite another year of challenging market conditions.

Staff, working in partnership with hundreds of local, regional and national organisations to catalyse housing, regeneration and place-making across the country, have:

Enabled the completion of more than 32,000 homes, vs a target of 29,641.
Facilitated the start of construction for an additional 35,000 homes, vs a target of 32,967.
Unlocked land that is capable of delivering more than 26,000 further homes, vs a target of 25,788.
87% of the completions Homes England enabled in 2023/24 have achieved an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B or above.
The provisional performance figures are part of Homes England’s annual report, which will be published this summer.

The majority of the increase in housing supply has been affordable homes. More broadly, through targeted partnerships with housing associations and local authorities, the Agency is fully confident it will spend its share of the Government’s Affordable Housing Programme 2021-26, helping to ensure that more people have access to safe, decent and affordable homes.

The Agency also made significant progress against its widened remit and focus on regeneration and placemaking. In 2023/24 the Agency used its powers, land, capital, and technical expertise to support good quality, sustainable housing and regeneration schemes in priority places across England including in Barrow, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Plymouth, Salford, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and York.

Achieving lasting transformation and addressing deep-rooted social and economic challenges to create sustainable and thriving neighbourhoods is a complex and multifaceted process that takes decades of dedicated effort and investment. Partnership and collaboration is the cornerstone in achieving this, to leverage resources, share expertise, build trust, coordinate efforts, increase accountability and mobilise communities.

This is why, during 2023/24, the Agency established three Strategic Place Partnerships (SPPs) in South and West Yorkshire and the West Midlands. These join existing SPPs in Greater Manchester and Essex. In total these SPPs serve a population of more than 13 million people.

Peter Freeman, Chair of Homes England said, "The performance demonstrated in these provisional figures is evidence of Homes England’s impact which is being felt across the country, helping to ensure that more people have a home in a safe, sustainable, thriving community.

The figures also further acknowledge the conclusion of a recent Public Bodies Review of the Homes England: there is no doubt in the effectiveness and efficiency of the Agency and that we are crucial to the delivery of government housing, regeneration and levelling up priorities.

Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England said, "I am hugely grateful for the commitment, passion and hard work of our staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure Homes England met - and in most areas exceeded - its annual targets across 2023/24.

Thanks to them – and the huge network of organisations we work in partnership with – we made strides in advancing our mission to create more places where people can live, work and thrive, helping more children and young people out of temporary accommodation and ultimately driving greater social justice and equity for society.