Asked by: Lord Fink (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small and medium-sized housebuilders, particularly those that are building homes that are well insulated and airtight.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government recognises the important role of SME housebuilders in delivering high-quality, energy-efficient homes and we welcome the innovation shown by those that drive energy efficiency improvements with high levels of insulation and airtightness. The government also wants to go further, and we are committed to introducing new legislation through the Future Homes Standard (FHS) this year which will see all new homes future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting consumer energy bills.
We are actively engaging with SMEs and the wider sector to understand the impact and ensure the standards remain deliverable. Once the FHS is published, there will be a transitional period to give housebuilders time to prepare and adjust.
SMEs will play a crucial role in delivering 1.5m homes and we are committed to supporting the sector. In December 2024, the government announced a £700m extension to the Home Building Fund which provides loans and finance to SME and will support the delivery of 12,000 homes. In addition, SME housebuilders can access lower-cost lending through the ENABLE Build scheme which was allocated an additional £1 billion guarantees capacity at the Budget on 30 October 2024.
Asked by: Lord Fink (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the emergency loan fund established by the government of Scotland to support small and medium-sized housebuilders; and what plans they have to set up a similar fund for housebuilders in England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Continuing to build the homes the country needs is a priority for the Government and we have been supporting the sector through various measures to bolster confidence and retain capacity. In addition to the broader business support packages announced by the Chancellor, including the Bounce Back Loan and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan schemes, the £2.5 billion Home Building Fund (Short Term Fund), first launched in 2016, also remains open to new borrowers. The fund is targeted at small and medium builders that have been unable to access lending via the market and will help viable development schemes progress. We have also made available £1 billion of guarantee support to SMEs through the ENABLE Build scheme.
We will continue to engage regularly with all parts of the housing industry to understand and monitor the impact of Coronavirus.
Asked by: Lord Fink (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the national Homes for Heroes campaign; and what plans they have to support it.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has made £9bn available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including Social Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. A mix of different tenures is vital to meet the needs of a wide range of people, and allow the sector to build the right homes in the right places.
Building on this, we announced at Budget 2020 that we are investing £12bn to build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26. This will be the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.