Hammond on housing – The Autumn Statement Summary
We’ve read the statement, even the small print.
On November 23rd 2016, Philip Hammond – Secretary, Chief and now Chancellor introduced his Autumn Statement Summary. He used his first Autumn Statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer to prioritise capital expenditure on housing and unlocking housing as part of a statement intended to ‘deliver a housing market that works for everyone’.
Mr Hammond has been in politics for a fair length of time, a Jack of all trades and a master of some. You could say he is an expert in work and pensions, the treasury and transport. Hot on defence, foreign and commonwealth affairs. However, recently he has been involved in a little bit of Brexit unrest and accused by cabinet colleagues for, ‘arguing like an accountant, seeking the risk of everything.’
But… he’s the one holding the red case and what we are interested in is his intentions with housing and planning.
In this short article, we are going to touch on 3 points.
- What is the Chancellor’s priority when it comes to housing?
- What’s in the small print? In particular, why is the Chancellor spending £7.6m of tax payer’s money on renovating someone’s home?
- Moving forwards – Are the housing deficit solutions really jotted on a piece of white paper?
- What is the Chancellor’s priority when it comes to housing?
Affordable Housing: £1.4bn has been set aside to deliver 40,000 additional affordable homes by 2020-21. Alongside the extra money, the government will relax restrictions on the precise tenure of the units to allow for a broader range of affordable housing to be provided.
Housing Infrastructure Fund: The creation of a £2.3bn Housing Infrastructure Fund by 2020-21 which will see local authorities, combined authorities and cities bid on a competitive basis for infrastructure funding with the specific requirement that it unlocks housing. The money, heavily backloaded towards the end of the parliament, will be focused on areas with the greatest housing need and where affordability is most stretched. It is intended to eventually help to unlock the delivery of 100,000 new homes. The most obvious area of expenditure will be on roads but it could also be extended to utilities and other areas.
The Chancellor reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme and announced two new allocations of funding aimed at boosting housing supply. The Autumn Statement also formalises the £2bn of funding pledged by the Communities Secretary at Conservative Party Conference to pilot Accelerated Construction on public sector sites.
- What’s in the small print? In particular, why is the Chancellor spending £7.6m of tax payer’s money on renovating someone’s home?
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, near Rotherham. It is thought to have been the inspiration for Pemberley in Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice. The chancellor announced £7.6 million of public money is to be spent on the property. Why? (click to read) Meanwhile, statutory homelessness rose by 23 % from 2009 to 2015. Last year, around 50,000 households were recognised as homeless by their local authorities. Rough sleeping was up by around a third over the same period.
You should always read the small print (click to read).
- Moving forwards – Are the housing deficit solutions really jotted on a piece of white paper?
No, not jotted but the White Paper will include a wide range of measures and reforms to increase land availability, boost supply and ‘halt the decline in housing affordability’. The White Paper is expected in the coming weeks and the House Builders Federation (HBF) will provide a comprehensive briefing when it is published. http://www.hbf.co.uk/
Finishing on a positive…
We look forward to Mr Hammond delivering a housing market that works for everyone. We will be watching very carefully and following his every move.
Read the Autumn Statement in full.
Read what the experts are saying about the Autumn Statement.
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