When we ask what’s in the Spring Statement for housing, one obvious answer is money. Another is growth.
These are certainly the buzzwords for Rachel Reeves. This perhaps starts to explain why the Chancellor was so enthused in her speech by a seemingly unremarkable economic growth number of 0.2%.
What’s important for the housing sector is that this 0.2% figure is the amount by which the independent Office for Budget Responsibility calculates the UK economy will grow by 2029-30 as a direct result of government planning reforms and investment in boosting affordable house building. Apparently housebuilding (in England at least) will soar 30% by 2029-30 to a 40-year annual high of 305,000. 0.2% may not sound like much, but the Chancellor was positively triumphant when she said that 0.2% equated to £6.8bn.
The point is that the government clearly gets the link between investment in housebuilding and economic growth. It gets it to such an extent that the Spring Statement repeatedly states that the extra £2bn investment in the Affordable Homes Programme announced earlier this week is a “down payment” on a much larger capital investment programme to be announced as part of the Spending Review in June.
Spring Statement not all good news
That was the good news. There was, however, substantial bad news in the form of confirmed cuts to welfare payments that are expected to save £4.8bn. This includes a 50% cut to Universal Credit health benefits and a freeze for new claimants. Personal Independence Payments will also be reduced for 800,000 recipients. These cuts will affect many social tenants and are likely lead to increased demand for housing provider income support services.
Overall, households may see increased disposable income, according to the government, but for benefit recipients, there is more likely to be an income squeeze.
Housing comms considerations
So, what are the next steps for housing providers to consider in their external communications, following the past week’s announcements?
- If you have a development pipeline, make it very clear to the government, Homes England/Greater London Authority, MPs, regional mayors, local authorities and other key stakeholders that you are delivering more social and affordable homes
- Ensure existing residents see how you are continuing to invest in their homes as well
- Take every opportunity to clearly communicate your aims as a charity/social landlord to invest in improving communities – this will help existing residents understand why some of their rents are being used to build new homes
- Continue to emphasise in key stakeholder conversations and other relevant messaging that further government support is needed. This is to ensure you can do all that is required to invest in the safety of existing homes, as well as building as many new ones as are needed to help hit the government’s 1.5m target
The next stop is the Spending Review, slated for 11 June. As well as the replacement AHP to run from 2027, we are due to hear the results of the consultation into the rent settlement for social landlords in England, in terms of whether it is five or 10 years. We’ll be back then with our analysis and recommendations on more key housing comms takeaways.
To discuss anything in this blog, please contact hello@see-media.co.uk.
Stuart Macdonald, Managing Director, See Media
