UK minister working up plans for state-owned housing developer

The housing secretary has been working up plans for a state-owned housing developer, according to details leaked to the Guardian, as the government looks for ways to stimulate stubbornly low rates of housebuilding. Steve Reed has been looking at proposals to set up a new state-owned developer which could borrow at lower rates than private developers and housing associations, according to plans leaked to the Guardian. The plans, which are not yet finalised, cannot be enacted before Keir Starmer steps down as prime minister, after the cabinet secretary ordered that no major announcements should be made until after the new government takes office. However they could appeal to the most-likely next prime minister, Andy Burnham, who has talked about taking greater public control over “the essentials of life”. Starmer took office two years ago promising a major uptick in housebuilding, and to achieve this has liberalised the planning system and allocated £39bn to social and affordable homes over the next 10 years. The government’s stimulus measures have boosted the number of new houses built since the lows of late 2023 and early 2024. Ministers announced last week that there had been a 26% increase in the number of affordable homes started in the past 12 months compared with the previous year. Overall building figures however remain well below where they were three years ago and where they need to be to hit the government’s target. …