Homes for the South West Response to Queen’s Speech 2022

Homes for the South West is pleased to see the government’s recognition in the Queen’s Speech of the need to drive local growth, level up regions and empower local leaders to regenerate their areas.

Better quality, safer homes are also vital to supporting tenant welfare and we’re pleased to see the Government taking steps to strengthen this with the Social Housing Bill.

The levelling up agenda is of particular importance for a region like the South West which has seen historic underinvestment and faces acute shortages in affordable, quality housing. We hope to see Government consider the unique challenges faced by the South West in the levelling up agenda and also adopt a series of key measures which would help unlock the delivery of more affordable housing. These include reforming the public sector land disposal policy to prioritise the provision of public housing and allowing Housing Associations to decide what ‘tenure’ homes would be on practical completion of the property.

As Homes for the South West, we stand ready to help the Government fulfil their ambitions to create more affordable, quality homes that people want, with the unique needs of the South West met.