Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has welcomed new figures showing a rise in the number of homes being delivered as proof that the government is keeping the country building and delivering the homes that hard-working people need.
The latest housebuilding figures show that there were over 131,000 completions in the last 12 months, 15% higher than in the previous 12 months and at their highest annual total since June 2009.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: "This has provided a real boost to the UK’s construction industry and is delivering the homes that hard-working people rightly deserve.
"However, we know there is more to do. That is why we have outlined plans to deliver 275,000 affordable homes by the end of this Parliament – the fastest rate of building for 20 years.
"We’re also determined to support those who aspire to own their own home, which is why we’re making up to £10 million available to bring forward brownfield sites to build new Starter Homes which will be available to young first-time buyers at a 20% discount."
Housebuilding is at the heart of the government’s long-term economic plan. Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics have shown that output in the construction industry increased by 2.7% in June compared to the same month last year. Work on private new housing between April and June rose by nearly 3.9% on the previous quarter.
However, Henry Gregg, Assistant Director of Campaigns at the National Housing Federation, said: “Britain is in the grips of a housing crisis, and at the centre of this huge national issue is the fact that we’ve failed to build enough homes for a generation or more.
“(These) figures are encouraging as they show housebuilding is at its highest level since 2008. However, we need to continue to increase our efforts as a nation to build the homes that are desperately needed. Last year alone we built less than half of the homes needed, pushing house prices and home ownership further out of reach for millions of families and young people.
“Housing associations are building across the country and are valuable potential partners for government to get even more homes built. We want to work together to end the housing crisis and provide quality affordable homes to everyone who needs them.”
The government says it has also given local people the powers they need to drive forward housing development with the number of homes in locally led plans up by a quarter.
Before March 2012 the average number of homes planned for by local authorities stood at 573 per year. But radical reforms put Local Plans and housing delivery at the heart of the planning system.
This has helped expand the housing pipeline with those Local Plans published after the reforms containing on average 717 homes per year.
The government says it is also helping hard-working people achieve their dream of home ownership with more than 200,000 households helped to buy property through government-backed schemes since 2010.
