Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of their First Homes policy for the locally led planning system in respect of addressing local housing needs.

The Government is committed to making the dream of home ownership a reality for everyone. Affordability is the biggest barrier to home ownership, and while this is partly due to a shortage of housing supply, low interest rates and high rents have limited the ability for young people to save the deposit they need to buy a home. We believe that First Homes are a key means of helping local people, especially young first-time buyers, into home ownership and maintaining strong communities.

It is for local authorities to determine how and where to best deliver their housing needs, and as we set out in our consultation on First Homes, which ran between February and May this year, we are supportive of empowering local decision-makers and conscious of reducing discretion to respond to local circumstances. Our response to this consultation, which will be published in due course, will provide further detail on this.