Ahead of publication of the Housing Green Paper today, the LGA has urged the Government to stand firm and deliver its housing promise…

Sir Simon Milton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, commented:

"It's good news that the new Government has grasped the nettle on housing. Only bold reforms that devolve powers to local authorities will allow the right number of decent, affordable houses to be built in the right areas. Councils are ready to rise to the challenge of helping to build the 70,000 new affordable homes a year that the country so desperately needs, but only if Whitehall is ready to give them the freedom they need.

"Giving local authorities more powers to borrow and allowing them to use money from right-to-buy to increase resources available for housebuilding would give councils real incentives to build more homes. Developing local affordable housing trusts would let councils harness the financial muscle of the private sector to fund new affordable housing in their area.

Large investment needed

Mr Milton continued: "The Government needs to invest around £11.6bn in new, affordable housing over the next three years. Funding for the roads, schools and hospitals needed to turn desolate dormitories into places where people can live and work is vital.

"It is also important not to overlook the standard of existing housing stock. Nine out of ten of the houses that we will have in 2017 have already been built. Of these, 1.2 million social homes and five million private homes are not in a decent condition. We hope the government will continue to show the commitment to improving these homes.

"Councils are committed to creating places where people can thrive and are ready to work with the Government and the private to sector to make decent, secure and affordable housing available to everyone. Only councils are able to make the necessary links between housing needs, environmental improvements, employment opportunities, transport provision, education, health and community facilities to make sure the right kind of environmentally sustainable homes are provided in locations where people want to live, work and raise their families."