Government to fall short of housing target, figures suggest

The government will not get close to the extra homes needed to hit its housing target in England, official figures suggest.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner's plan for 1.5 million new homes by 2029 is seen as crucial to solving the housing crisis and boosting economic growth.

But latest estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) suggest the government will fall short of that figure, even with planning reforms outlined in chancellor Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement on Wednesday.

A government spokesperson said further reforms not reflected in the OBR's forecast would help to reach the 1.5 million target.

The Home Builders Federation said the government "urgently needs" to make mortgages more accessible to first time buyers to meet the target.

Rachel Reeves singled out the government's efforts to build more homes as a major success of the Labour government in her Spring Statement.

She highlighted OBR figures that showed housebuilding was set to hit a 40-year-high and boost the economy by £6.8bn.

The chancellor claimed that reforms to the planning system would enable the government to get very close to achieving the 1.5 million target.

But despite the chancellor's optimistic outlook, the figures actually suggest that planning reforms are on course to achieve far fewer new homes than first hoped.

The central plank of those reforms are ambitious mandatory targets for every local authority, to grant more planning permissions.

Reeves said the government would get to within "touching distance" of its 1.5m target, telling MPs that 1.3 million new homes would be created by 2029.

However, the 1.3 million figure she used includes housebuilding in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In fact, only 1 million new homes are expected to be built in England, it's understood.

OBR figures also make clear that many of those homes would have been built anyway, regardless of the government's planning reforms.

The watchdog says reforms introduced by Angela Rayner will only lead to an extra 170,000 homes in England, a quarter of the amount needed to hit her target.

Ministers have been keen to point to the economic boost that those 170,000 new homes will achieve.

Last year saw a record low for housing projects granted planning permission in England, with just over 30,000 projects given the go-ahead.

The chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, Neil Jefferson, told the BBC the government needs to address "other barriers" to "reverse the declines we have seen in supply and deliver much needed housing".

He said the planning changes were "very positive but further interventions are urgently needed if we are to increase housebuilding to the level required".

A government spokesperson said: "The OBR forecast only factors in reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework in England which is just one element of this government's efforts to increase housebuilding.

"Further reforms such as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the government's long term housing strategy and the new Affordable Homes Programme are not reflected in the forecast and will all help to reach the 1.5 million target."

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