King’s Speech

Lord Bishop of Chelmsford Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford]

My Lords, I declare my interest as the Church of England’s lead Bishop for housing. Along with other noble Lords, I very much look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Fuller.

It is undeniable that the UK is in the midst of a housing crisis—one with deep roots. Too often, housing has been viewed as a financial asset rather than a fundamental human need. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for the comments and commitments in his opening speech, but the housing crisis has been escalating for decades, so we should not underestimate just how long it will take to fix. Therefore, I cannot overstate the need for long-term thinking in tackling the housing crisis, a point well made by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick.

A clear, long-term vision and a carefully thought-through strategy to provide decent, affordable homes for all can deliver three major goals of economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship. That is why, along with my right reverend friend the Bishop of St Albans, I am pleased to support Homes for All—a vision for a long-term housing strategy supported by churches, charities, think tanks and others, which I commend to all noble Lords.

Here is just one example of the pitfalls of a failure to think strategically. Between 2021 and 2026, the previous Government allocated £11.5 billion to the affordable homes programme to subsidise the building of new affordable homes, but in the same period, the New Economics Foundation estimates that the Government are set to subsidise private landlords by more than £70 billion through housing benefit and the housing element of universal credit. We clearly have the balance wrong here. We should be using more of that funding to build up our stock of social homes, locking in the affordability for good, rather than subsidising private landlords, month in, month out; otherwise, the housing benefit bill will continue to rise without giving anyone in housing need the security that they deserve. I endorse the National Housing Federation’s call to double the affordable homes programme budget and build 90,000 new social homes a year, which it estimates will add £51 billion to the economy.

While it is true that we need to think long term to fix our broken housing system, people at the sharp end of this crisis need change now. Rough sleeping has risen by 27% in the last year, and 142,000 children are currently housed in temporary accommodation—as we know, families can spend months or even years in unsuitable, so-called temporary accommodation while they languish on the social housing waiting list, which currently stands at over 1 million. We proved that it was possible to make significant progress in tackling rough sleeping during the pandemic when we moved with urgency, so I would appreciate more clarity from the Minister about the Government’s ambition for ending rough sleeping.

Even for those who are housed, this can often be in insecure, unaffordable and poor-quality homes. One in five private renters now pays at least half of their income on rent. They cannot wait for decades for the housing market to provide more decent, affordable homes. We need both long-term planning and immediate action for those in acute housing need.

I urge the Government also to pay particular attention to people who spend their lives in the service of others, such as ministers of religion—there are others too—and to ensure that policy-making does not inadvertently make it more difficult to provide housing for them in retirement.

I am pleased that the Government have proposed a new renters’ rights Bill. It must offer renters and tenants a fair deal; extend the decent homes standard to the private rented sector; prevent discrimination against families with children and people in receipt of benefits; and abolish no-fault evictions to give tenants the security that they need. On that latter point, the details must be worked through carefully so that the Bill applies fairly to charities among a range of housing providers.

It might seem like an obvious point, but the primary duty of our housing system should be to provide quality homes for all. I welcome the Government’s plans to reform and better resource the planning system, and their ambition to build 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament. More housing means more opportunity—something which the Church has recognised, as we seek to use more of our own land for affordable housing.

It is not just about the volume of houses we build. We must also think about quality and affordability, as well as resilience to climate shocks. Will these new homes be, in the words of Coming Home, the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community,

“sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying”?

These five values speak to our profound need for community, as we live with and among one another. New housing developments must be built with the social and physical infrastructure that supports people to thrive. The Church stands ready to help with this mission. While developers and local planners can focus on building houses, community groups, charities and faith groups are well placed to build the social support and relational connections which give these new communities a soul.

Housing is not just bricks and mortar. Our housing system should not primarily be an opportunity to amass assets and wealth. It is about people’s homes and their lives: where they get a good night’s sleep or finally relax on the couch after a long day at work; where they prepare food and eat with family and friends; where they should feel safe and secure. Housing policy must, first and foremost, serve the needs of the people. I look forward to working with the Minister in the coming years to see this vision become a reality.