Housebuilders have welcomed the confirmation of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister and maintain his decision to appoint Angela Rayner as Housing Secretary again is a significant step forward.
The return of Angela Rayner to the role she occupied when Kier Starmer became PM, but which she vacated after resigning from the Cabinet, is regarded as a boost to the Government’s housebuilding strategy.
Both in terms of new builds and the affordable housing programme, the industry believes Angela Rayner reappointment and Matthew Pennycook’s appointment as Housing and Planning Minister provide welcome continuity for the sector.
The Government has taken important steps through planning reform and the reintroduction of housing targets for local authorities to support home building, and Rayner and Pennycook were at the helm in MHCLG together at the outset of that process; however, this alone will not be enough to unlock the new homes needed.
The home building industry continues to face significant challenges, including increased taxes, levies, policy costs, and regulatory pressures, alongside weak demand driven by mortgage affordability challenges amid a lack of meaningful support for buyers.
Without action to address the cumulative cost burden on development and create the right conditions for investment, the Government’s housing ambitions will remain increasingly difficult to achieve.
Responding to the announcement, Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “We look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Burnham and his Government to turn its housing ambitions into reality.
“The Government has already taken important steps to support housing delivery through planning reform, but if we are to reverse the decline in housing supply, we now need to move beyond planning alone and tackle the wider barriers holding back supply.
“Home builders continue to stand ready to deliver the homes the country needs, but it can only do so if the conditions are right. The Government’s housing ambitions depend on a thriving private sector, so there is now an opportunity to ensure policy is aligned with that objective.
“Reducing the cumulative cost burden on development, supporting home buyers and providing long-term policy certainty will restore confidence, unlock investment and enable the industry to deliver the step change in housing supply the country needs.”
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders described the new PM’s speech as “on the money” and the NFB wholeheartedly backs his plans for reindustrialisation, more council housing, using public procurement to back British industry and ending rough sleeping.
“Construction will be integral in achieving his ambitions and we hope to see a repetition of the Northwest procurement process where regional players training, retaining and investing locally are understood as key to a strong region and healthy community,” he explained.
The PM promised a “circuit breaker” to ‘restore hope’ to Britain and deliver a ten-year plan to rebuild the nation. While he will not be revealing this plan in full until later this year, he highlighted key features such as the use of public procurement, a wide nationalisation programme, a council house building programme, education reform and devolution of power from Downing Street to local communities.
Rico Wojtuleiwcz, Director of Policy and Market Insight, said: “The success of Greater Manchester examples the pragmatism that has made the region so attractive to global investors, regional migration and organic growth. We hope that this pragmatism also extends into addressing the housing crisis, particularly as PM Burnham historically praised Finland’s Housing First model as key to ending rough sleeping.
“What many do not discuss is that most of Finland’s Housing First funding is spent on low interest rate, government backed loans for homebuyers and builders. Should their successful strategy be replicated in the UK, we would see a new Help to Buy variant with broader reach. We would also see the UK’s broken affordable housing model replaced, in favour of institutions and the market delivering low rent housing for fixed periods, for example 25 years. This is the pragmatism and circuit breaker the UK housing crisis desperately needs.”
CIH welcomed the reappointment of Angela Rayner as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Matthew Pennycook as Housing and Planning Minister and looks forward to continuing to work with them and the wider ministerial team. We are particularly pleased that Matthew Pennycook will also attend Cabinet, a significant and positive signal of the priority being given to housing at the heart of government.
Over the past two years, Matthew Pennycook has built strong relationships across the housing sector and played a leading role in driving forward an ambitious programme of housing, planning and rental reform. His reappointment provides important continuity and stability at a time when the focus must be on turning policy commitments into delivery. Alongside Angela Rayner's continued leadership, it demonstrates the government's recognition that consistent and ambitious leadership will be essential to meeting the country's housing needs and delivering lasting change.
During her previous tenure as Secretary of State, Angela Rayner demonstrated strong leadership on housing, communities and local government, helping to place housing at the centre of discussions about economic growth, opportunity and national renewal.
During that time, she oversaw some of the most significant housing reforms in a generation. These included major changes to the private rented sector through the Renters' Rights Act, reforms to the planning system designed to accelerate housebuilding and support delivery of 1.5 million homes, measures to strengthen the delivery of affordable and social housing, and changes to Right to Buy intended to better protect existing social housing stock.
Angela Rayner also played a key role in securing a strong Spending Review settlement for housing, including significant long-term investment in affordable and social homes. Alongside this, she has consistently recognised the importance of working in partnership with housing organisations, local government and others across the sector to deliver lasting change and tackle the housing crisis.
Her focus on increasing housing supply, improving security and standards for renters, supporting councils and empowering local leaders to meet the needs of their communities helped drive progress across the sector, while also highlighting the scale of the challenges that remain. Prime Minister Burnham’s increased focus on delivering a new generation of council and social homes, alongside a more ambitious approach to preventing and ending rough sleeping, marks an important shift in housing policy and reflects a growing recognition of housing's role in addressing inequality, improving life chances and strengthening communities.
Housing remains fundamental to creating thriving communities and supporting economic success. While significant challenges remain, including the need to increase housing supply, tackle affordability pressures and secure the long-term investment needed for existing and new homes, there is also a real opportunity to build on the progress already made.
The decision to retain Matthew Pennycook in his housing role and give him a place at the Cabinet table reinforces the growing recognition across government that housing is central not only to social wellbeing, but also to economic growth, public service reform and the creation of sustainable communities. It also provides valuable continuity as the sector works to deliver on the opportunities created by recent reforms and investment commitments.
As the professional body for housing, CIH looks forward to working once again with the Secretary of State, the Housing Minister, their ministerial colleagues and partners across the sector to support delivery of the homes the country needs and the systemic change needed to underpin this. We will continue to engage closely with government on the key challenges and opportunities facing the sector and will keep members updated on developments in the months ahead.
