Only slim chance target of building 1.5m homes in England will be met, minister says

The government is unlikely to meet its target of building 1.5m homes, Angela Rayner has acknowledged, saying there was only a “slim chance” enough houses would be built before the next election.

The manifesto pledge to build 1.5m houses by the next election was a “stretch target”, the communities secretary added, but that it was not being ditched and she was “definitely not giving up”.

The government’s target has been significantly hampered by inflation owing to the US war with Iran. Housebuilders have cut back the number of developments despite Labour’s planning reforms which were hoped to increase the numbers of new homes.

Rayner, who returned to the role after Andy Burnham became prime minister, acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that she might miss the target.

She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “It’s a slim chance, but I’m definitely not giving it up. I think it’s really important that we keep a target that it was always a stretch target.”

Rayner said Burnham’s main focus was now on building council houses, suggesting that was taking priority over efforts to increase the overall target.

“The prime minister wants us to make sure we’re building council houses. He’s made that absolutely, fundamentally clear,” she said. “We’ve just announced £10bn into a social and affordable homes programme. We’re seeing home starts up by 15% last year, so we are making a difference.

“But the headwinds that are coming our way internationally and through those construction costs are having a negative effect on that target.”

Burnham recently backtracked on plans for cash from the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme to be spent entirely on social homes, which he had suggested he was minded to do. Instead the £10bn will be spent on the mix of subsidised housing types in England, in line with the Starmer government’s policy.

The funds will build 70,000 homes outside London, about 60% of which will be social rented houses. The rest will be other types of accommodation such as shared ownership schemes and sheltered housing. London will get another £6bn, which will be allocated at a later date.

Ministers are keen to find other ways to relax regulations for private sector builders, including instructing councils to give a “default yes” approach to housing developments that are within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations.