Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve social housing completion rates.

On 2 July, the government set out its five-point plan for kickstarting a decade of social and affordable housing renewal. Taken together, the grant funding support and regulatory certainty and stability that this government is providing will enable Registered Providers to quickly ramp up investment in existing and new stock. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on that day (HCWS771).

Section 106 agreements are, and will remain, an essential mechanism for delivering social and affordable housing. The government continues to progress work on a holistic policy package that will deal with the legacy problem of existing uncontracted S106 units and also prevent the problem recurring by laying the foundations for a simpler, more transparent, and more resilient S106 system.

On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be found on gov.uk here) which included proposals to implement a new power for authorities to decline to determine planning applications made by developers who fail to build out at a reasonable rate. The consultation closed on 7 July and we are currently considering all feedback received.