PM hosts meeting with housebuilders at Downing Street

Prime Minister Theresa May has met with housing developers, housing associations and local government to discuss plans to increase housing supply. 

The meeting took place yesterday with 21 attendees. They included secretary of state for communities and local government Sajid Javid, minister of state for housing and planning Alok Sharma, Home Builders Federation chief executive Peter Andrew, National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr, Taylor Wimpey chief executive Peter Redfern, Barratt Developments CEO David Thomas and Quintain chief executive Angus Dodd. 

May emphasised the government’s ambition to fix the country’s “broken housing market”, oulining plans to increase housing supply. 

Other issues discussed included making the most of modern methods of construction, having the skilled workers required, helping SMEs grow and ensuring planning permissions ganted by councils were delivered into new homes. 

Those in attendance also discussed some of the recent measures taken by government, including enabling an additional 130,000 families to get on the housing ladder through the £10bn Help to Buy scheme and an additional £2bn for affordable housing. 

A Downing Street spokesperson said: ”Today the prime minister met representatives of large and small housing developers, housing associations and local government to discuss achieving a step change in the delivery of new homes.

”At the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasised the government’s ambition to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing our country today – fixing the broken housing market.

”For too many people, home ownership has moved increasingly out of reach, and people are finding themselves spending longer in insecure private rented accommodation that is becoming ever more expensive.

”It was a positive and collaborative meeting which needs to signal a step change in house building if we are to build a country that truly works for everyone.”