Andy Burnham’s focus on council housing has drawn a warm but cautious response from the sector

On 15^th July, The Times reported (£) that the incoming Prime Minister had told MPs that he planned to force government departments to give up land to support a major council housebuilding programme.  In response, Gavin Smart of the CIH pointed out that “after years of cuts and funding pressures”, local authorities would “need sustained investment in their capacity if they are to build at the scale needed to help tackle the housing crisis”.  Shazia Bashir of Winckworth Sherwood commented that it would take time and money to rebuild and maintain the expertise for councils to deliver such a programme, and that “budgets are not there”.  He pointed out that housing associations have the necessary expertise in this area and called for a partnership approach between local authorities and RPs.