Government intervention is undermining the UK’s ability to meet its housing targets as a slowdown in housebuilding collides with rising costs, skills shortages and mounting planning constraints according to the Housing Oversight Committee.
The committee, chaired by former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, said housing delivery was already falling short of required levels before recent policy changes and now risks deteriorating further.
It warned that weaker developer confidence, higher regulatory costs and limited capacity within local authorities are pushing the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes increasingly out of reach.
New build housing, which accounts for no more than around 1% of the UK’s housing stock in any given year, is facing what the committee described as a convergence of pressures.
CONSTRUCTION SLOWDOWN
These include a slowdown in construction activity, tighter high-rise safety rules and an ongoing shortage of skilled construction workers and planning professionals.
The introduction of the Building Safety Levy, due to take effect in October 2026, was highlighted as a further challenge. The committee said the levy risks delaying schemes already in the pipeline and undermining the viability of future developments, particularly those that include affordable or social housing.
Despite continued pressure on social housing provision, the committee found little evidence that local authorities are reviving large-scale housebuilding programmes or significantly expanding in-house delivery capacity.
It also warned that local government reorganisation could further reduce planning capacity, as councils amalgamate resources and employ fewer planning officers.
OWN WORST ENEMY
The Housing Oversight Committee is sponsored by The Family Building Society and brings together senior figures from across housing, economics and public policy, including Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation; Vicky Pryce, chief economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research; and Damien Green, chair of the Social Care Foundation.
Sir Vince Cable says: “The Government is looking like its own worst enemy by trying to make building easier with one hand but making it more difficult one the other.
“It’s no good trying to speed up planning approvals while making it more expensive to build at the same time.
“Local Government reorganisation will only make it worse as councils amalgamate resources leading to even fewer planning officers employed than now.
“With new build forming only 1% of the housing stock at most, policies encouraging improving existing properties and downsizing are essential otherwise reaching the 1.5 million new homes target will be extremely difficult.”
The committee said the Government’s heavy reliance on new build as the main lever for boosting supply is itself a structural weakness, given lengthy planning times and the rising cost of delivery. It argued that without a broader strategy – including improving existing housing stock and supporting downsizing – housing delivery will continue to lag behind political ambition.
