" We welcome the announcement in today's Spending Review to spend an additional £39 billion on social and affordable housing as well as support to unlock private development over the next decade.
Every £1 invested in the construction of these new homes can deliver a £2.92 return, provided we invest in local businesses to manufacture the building materials needed and offer pathways to skilled employment to build the homes which should be built last at least 150 years.
This initiative has the potential to deliver economic growth, address the growing inequality in housing and build social cohesion. As always, the devil is in the detail, and we need to have a joined-up approach to navigate the inevitable planning delays and progress at pace to deliver high quality homes.
We must also invest in and support the use of British made building products such as bricks and blocks made in the UK, it is not just our defence industry that we need to invest in to reduce our dependency on imports and cut the carbon cost of transport and deliver a resilient, sustainable economy.
it is important to provide more opportunities for SME builders to participate in the delivery and of these new homes and it is essential that we attract new talent and upskill the existing workforce as we transition to low carbon heating and enhanced ventilation and negate the need to rely on migrant labour.
The investment in apprenticeships is very welcome and we must ensure that this deliver opportunities quickly, this requires certainty, investment in premises built to last and the staff to support a major step change.
We have one chance to make this once in a generation investment work for occupants, who must be at the heart of delivering homes that are safe, comfortable, and affordable to run and maintain.
The homes we build today must be resilient to meet a changing climate where overheating is likely to become a major threat to health and comfort. We are also likely to experience extreme weather events including floods, storms and wildfires that are likely to provide a credible threat to life safety and property.
The opportunity is to invest in resilient neighbourhoods and create skilled employment, making best use of nature and working with home occupiers to help them manage their homes effectively to reduce running costs and deliver positive outcomes.
The Centre for Future Homes is leading primary research to support the transition to low carbon and safe homes. The research puts home occupiers at the front of the journey, providing the data and insights to allow policymakers to make evidenced based decisions and avoid unintended consequences.
We look forward to supporting Government, Combined Authorities, Local Government and Registered Providers and private home builders to deliver new homes and modernise the existing housing stock.