Government should create cross-departmental housing delivery unit, says report

A report has urged the government to create a cross-departmental housing delivery unit to coordinate policy, as part of a slew of recommendations from a commission initially led by economist Kate Barker.

The commission has called for a delivery unit, which would engage with the Bank of England and financial and utility regulators, while also highlighting the need a cross-party accord to create policy consensus, a new approach to the release of public land for housing and a new role for Homes England to act as a master developer.

The report, entitled ‘Beyond the Permacrisis - Delivering 1,000 Homes a Day’ includes 15 recommendations in all, urging the government to reform the current system of developer contributions through Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy, and to agree a prompt rent settlement for housing associations.

“Talk is cheap, literally,” it said. “Real change to deliver high quality, affordable housing will need to be matched not only with new structures and processes, but with hard, cold cash. More social rent housing will require subsidy.”

The Radix Big Tent Housing Commission was originally chaired by Barker, who wrote the influential Barker Report 2004. 

However, after her appointment as deputy chair of the government’s New Towns Taskforce, she was replaced by Alex Notay, who until recently was investment director for the fund and asset management arm of Place for People.

Notay said that the housing market was “in a worse state than it was two decades ago” when Barker wrote her previous report.

“In particular, there has been a failure to link new housing with infrastructure delivery and also, since the financial crisis, a further decline in the supply of new social rent homes,” she continued.

“The golden thread of our recommendations is to urge the government to ensure that any policy change is assessed against every aspect of the housing ecosystem. 

“Unblocking the various viability issues addressed in our report - alongside the strategic planning proposals we make - would be transformative.”

The report has been sent to Matthew Pennycook, minister of state for housing and planning. 

Radix Big Tent, which describes itself as the “think tank of the radical centre”, was established in 2022 through the merger of two existing organisations and counts former cabinet ministers Andrew Lansley and Vince Cable among its board members.

The report was welcomed by some in the built environment sector, with Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, saying it offered “clear and sensible recommendations for the future of housebuilding” 

“It underscores the essential link between homes and infrastructure, adopting a holistic approach to housing and planning – issues we have long championed,” she said, adding that planning reform alone would not be “a silver bullet”.

Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “In the 20 years since Dame Kate Barker’s review of UK Housing Supply, it is evident that many of the challenges she identified still remain. 

“However, a key aspect that has radically changed is the arrival of institutional investment into housing - a vital tool previously unavailable to policymakers. 

“By recognising housing as essential infrastructure, and calling for stable, long-term capital, the report aligns with the vision of a vibrant residential investment sector that delivers high-quality, professionally managed homes at scale.”