LGA responds to HCLG Committee report on modern methods of construction

Responding to a report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on modern methods of construction, which says councils need to build more homes, the Local Government Association’s Housing spokesman, Cllr Martin Tett, said:

“It is good that the Committee recognises the pivotal role councils can play in tackling the country’s housing crisis, and how we need to get councils building again if we are to stand any chance of meeting the Government’s house-building target of 300,000 new homes a year.

“The last time this country built homes at the scale that we need now was in the 1970s when councils built more than 40 per cent of them. Councils were trusted to get on and build homes that their communities needed, and they delivered, and they can do so again.

“Lifting the housing borrowing cap was a big step forward, but we now need the Government to go further in the Spending Review by devolving Right to Buy so councils retain 100 per cent of their receipts and can set discounts locally.”

Notes to editors

Councils in England face an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025. The LGA’s #CouncilsCan campaign aims to influence the forthcoming Spending Review and highlight the growing risk to vital local services if the Government does not take action to secure the financial sustainability of councils.