Friday, 21st May 2010 Top stories this week The Coalition: Programme for Government.....read more HIPs are history: Pickles suspends Home Information Packs with immediate effect.....read more Rightmove house price index: ‘Broken’ housing market challenge for new Government.....read more CML: March sees continued growth in house purchase activity.....read more CLG: House Building: March Quarter 2010, England.....read more Quick Links Wales news Government and political news Economic news Housing market news Industry news HBF news Events Wales news PM comes to Wales promising 'grown-up' political era David Cameron has made his first visit to Wales as Prime Minister with a promise of “collaboration not confrontation” in his dealings with the Assembly Government. The Conservative leader visited the National Assembly where he held his first face-to-face meeting with First Minister Carwyn Jones since forming a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats last week. And in an article written in the Western Mail, Mr Cameron has sought to send out a message of conciliation to the Welsh Labour leader and his Government with talk of “grown-up attitudes of co-operation and compromise”. He writes: “So we will strengthen devolution with a mature relationship of collaboration – not confrontation – between Westminster and Cardiff. We will also give everyone in Wales a sense that you are in control of your own destiny, by working with the Assembly to push forward a referendum on devolving further powers over the things that matter to you.” Read more to top Cameron in Wales – “we'll cut waste before raising taxes” During his visit, the Prime Minister also vowed wasteful Government spending would be cut before taxes go up. Mr. Cameron described £1.5bn a year spent on consultants by the last Government as “outrageous”. When pressed specifically about plans for VAT, he said every area of Government would be looked at for potential savings before thinking of raising taxes. “We have got to try and cut out waste in terms of the Government. We are going to go through each government department, whether it is the Home Office or whatever,” he said. He added: “I am not saying that there will not be difficult decisions, there will be, but let us start with cutting out waste.” Read more to top Coalition pledge on Calman Yesterday’s five year coalition programme for Government includes a commitment to implement the proposals of the Calman Commission and introduce a referendum on further Welsh devolution. to top Green homes, green jobs, green skills – Wales’s £30m eco facelift A green home improvement scheme will benefit people in at least 21 communities in Wales with £30m in funding in its first year, Environment Minister Jane Davidson has announced. The “arbed” scheme, which means “save” in Welsh, will upgrade the energy efficiency of existing housing stock in some of the most deprived parts of the country and also provide a boost to jobs, skills and regeneration. The £30m funding is for projects that have been successful in the first round of the scheme. Read more to top Government and political news The Coalition: Programme for Government The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have launched the Government’s extended coalition agreement (click here to view) setting out a five-year policy programme for the current parliament. This document builds on the Government’s policies set out in last week’s initial agreement reported in our previous Weekly News. The document details the two parties’ commitment to working together to tackle the deficit and implement radical reform and covers a comprehensive range of policy areas including; banking, crime, defence, foreign affairs, political reform, education, taxation, immigration and health. The Government said the agreement is to help rebuild the economy, unlock social mobility, mend the political system and give people the power to influence the decisions that affect their lives. The Prime Minister said the coalition Government had agreed an “extensive and detailed reform agenda”. He added: “The more that we talked, the more we listened, the more we realised that our visions for the future and the values that inspired them are strengthened and enhanced by each of the two parties coming together.” The Deputy Prime Minister said: “This document sets out, page by page, line by line, detailed changes that will make your life better. From now on, we get down to work.” The document states that: “The Government believes that it is time for a fundamental shift of power from Westminster to people. We will promote decentralisation and democratic engagement, and we will end the era of top-down government by giving new powers to local councils, communities, neighbourhoods and individuals.” The main housing related commitments in the document are to; Rapidly abolish Regional Spatial Strategies and the return of decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils, including giving councils new powers to stop ‘garden grabbing’; In the longer term, reform of the planning system to give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live, based on the principles set out in the Conservative Party publication “Open Source Planning”; Promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups. This includes supporting the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships – joint local authority-business bodies brought forward by local authorities themselves to promote local economic development – to replace Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). These may take the form of the existing RDAs in areas where they are popular.It will also include a review of local government finance; Abolish the unelected Infrastructure Planning Commission and replace it with an efficient and democratically accountable system that provides a fast-track process for major infrastructure projects; Publish and present to Parliament a simple and consolidated national planning framework covering all forms of development and setting out national economic, environmental and social priorities; Provide incentives for local authorities to deliver sustainable development, including for new homes and businesses. Maintain the Green Belt, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and other environmental protections, and create a new designation – similar to SSSIs – to protect green areas of particular importance to local communities; Create a presumption in favour of sustainable development in the planning system; Retain energy performance certificates but scrap HIPs; Review the effectiveness of the raising of the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers. Other housing related announcements include commitments to; Explore a range of measures to bring empty homes into use; Promote shared ownership schemes and help social tenants and others to own or part-own their home; Create new trusts that will make it simpler for communities to provide homes for local people; Phase out the ring-fencing of grants to local government and review the unfair Housing Revenue Account; Promote ‘Home on the Farm’ schemes that encourage farmers to convert existing buildings into affordable housing; Require continuous improvements to the energy efficiency of new housing; Through their ‘Green Deal’, encourage home energy efficiency improvements paid for by savings from energy bills; Give councils a general power of competence; Work with the Bank of England to investigate how the process of including housing costs in the CPI measure of inflation can be accelerated; Introduce a “one-in, one-out” rule whereby no new regulation is brought in without other regulation being cut by a greater amount; Impose “sunset clauses” on regulations and regulators to ensure that the need for each regulation is regularly reviewed. Following the publication, HBF has written to Ministers and issued a press release (see next story) calling urgently for clarity with regard to the Planning System, and for a Transition Plan to be implemented during the transfer from the existing to the new system. Read more to top HBF: Housing crisis dictates Government must urgently provide clarity on planning policy HBF’s press release on the Government’s the five-year policy programme, warned that clear guidance on future house building planning policy is urgently needed if a deepening of the already acute housing crisis is to be avoided. The Coalition agreement document refers to a ‘rapid’ abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategies, but only commits to reforming the planning system ‘in the longer term’ as the Government moves towards a ‘localism’ based approach. HBF stated that any gap between the abolition of the Regional Strategies and the introduction of a new planning system clearly poses serious concerns for all those to whom housing matters, including house builders and Local Authorities alike, but also for local communities, home buyers and the many employed in and through house building. There is obvious potential for the dangerous void of guidance to derail the recovery seen in recent months – with clear implications both for jobs, and for people looking to buy and in need of a home. The announcement that regional housing targets are to be scrapped was expected, but as HBF has been saying for months a transition plan to bridge the gap between the radically different policies of the last and the current Government is absolutely essential if we are to avert a slump in house building - already at its lowest level since World War Two. HBF Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley commented: “We urgently need clarity on housing planning policy if the Government is to deliver its pre-election pledge to build more of the homes it recognises we need. We all expected the regional plans to be scrapped, but we now need direction on how we are to move forward. We have an acute housing crisis in this country, approaching a shortfall of a million new homes. We just cannot afford a period of confusion to reduce house building still further at a time when we are already building at the lowest level for many decades. The new Government’s proposal to scrap HIP’s is welcome.” The proposal to increase Local Authorities’ powers to stop so called ‘Garden grabbing’ is also concerning. In many areas, Local Authorities face difficult choices in determining where to build necessary new homes. They may choose to grant planning applications for garden sites as it is the only way to supply much needed housing in a manner that is not detrimental to the local character. Building on such sites is often also important for smaller local firms which provide much needed local employment. Read more to top HIPs are history: Pickles suspends Home Information Packs with immediate effect Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Grant Shapps have announced that, with immediate effect from today (21st May), they are suspending the requirement for homeowners to provide a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their homes. Mr Pickles laid an Order suspending HIPs with immediate effect, pending primary legislation for a permanent abolition. Mr Pickles and Mr Shapps also said that the Government is determined to help people reduce their energy bills, improve our energy security and tackle climate change by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. Sellers will therefore still be required to commission, but won't need to have received, an EPC before marketing their property, and the Government will consider how the EPC can play its part in the new drive for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy. Eric Pickles said: "The expensive and unnecessary Home Information Pack has increased the cost and hassle of selling homes and is stifling a fragile housing market. "That's why I am taking emergency action to suspend the HIP, bringing down the cost of selling a home and removing unnecessary regulation from the home buying process. "This swift and decisive action will send a strong message to the fragile housing market and prevent uncertainty for both home sellers and buyers. "HIPs are history. This action will encourage sellers back into the market, and help the market as a whole and the economy recover." Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "This is a great example of how this new Government is getting straight down to work by cutting away pointless red-tape that is strangling the market. Rather than shelling out hundreds of pounds for nothing in return we're stripping away bureaucracy and letting home owners sell their properties. "But we're also showing our commitment to a greener housing market by keeping Energy Performance Certificates and making them more relevant in helping buyers make informed decisions on the energy costs of their new home." Read more to top CLG Ministerial responsibilities confirmed The responsibilities of the full new ministerial team at CLG have now been confirmed. Supporting Secretary of State Eric Pickles, at Minister of State level, Grant Shapps will be Minister for Housing and Local Government, responsible for housing, local government, regeneration, climate change and sustainable development; Greg Clark will be Minister for Decentralisation, responsible for decentralisation (including across Government), the Big Society and planning policy.At Parliamentary Under Secretary of State level, Bob Neill will be responsible for fire and resilience, Thames Gateway and Olympics, local government and planning; Andrew Stunell will be responsible for community cohesion, race equality, building regulations, Big Society, housing and regeneration; Baroness Hanham will be responsible for CLG business in the House of Lords and a range of policy areas including climate change and sustainable development to top Shadow Cabinet details confirmed Details of Shadow Cabinet positions in the Labour Party have also been confirmed this week. John Denham will be Shadow Communities Secretary with John Healey also retaining his former ministerial brief as Shadow Housing Minister. to top HCA announces changes to corporate structure and accommodation The Homes and Communities Agency has announced a number of measures designed to streamline the Agency’s top structure and office accommodation, which aim to ensure continued effective delivery and achieve efficiency savings of around £2m per year. Trevor Beattie, currently director of strategy, policy, performance and research will become director of place making, bringing together all of the Agency’s corporate property, regeneration and institutional finance skills, including the Thames Gateway, skills and knowledge and the Milton Keynes Partnership. Richard Hill, currently director of investment and renewal will become director of housing growth and affordability, assuming additional responsibilities for housing growth and spatial and market intelligence. Richard Ennis will continue as director of finance and corporate services, assuming additional responsibility for communications and the HCA’s secretariat team. Stephen Muers will report directly to Chief Executive Sir Bob Kerslake, as head of strategy. All of the structural changes will take effect from the end of June. The new structure takes account of recent changes at the agency including most recently John Lewis, acting director of new ventures and partnerships, who is leaving the HCA for a new post as chief executive of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. Chief Executive of the HCA, Sir Bob Kerslake, said: “As a relatively new organisation seeking to improve and build on strong foundations, we are constantly reviewing how we work. “In the current economic climate we are very clear that where we can make efficiency savings and achieve more for less, then we should. We have a strong regional structure and well-established local relationships and I am confident that this new top structure means we remain fit for purpose as a national agency that works locally.” Read more to top Economic news Bank of England: Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting The Bank of England published the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on 7th and 10th May 2010 this week at which it was decided to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the Asset Purchase Programme at £200bn. The minutes state that: “Although the Committee judged that the risks to activity and inflation in the near term had increased, it was too early to assess with confidence the overall impact of recent developments on the medium-term outlook. Some of the present uncertainties should be reduced by the time of future meetings. All Committee members agreed that the overall outlook for inflation implied by the “Inflation Report” projections warranted leaving policy unchanged.” Read more to top Chancellor sets emergency Budget date and creates new Office for Budget Responsibility Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that an emergency Budget will be held on Tuesday 22nd June. He has also announced the creation of a new Office for Budget Responsibility (click here to view), headed by respected fiscal and macroeconomic expert Sir Alan Budd, to assess the state of the nation's finances. Speaking to journalists at the Treasury's offices in London, Mr Osborne said he wanted an emergency Budget that would "show that Britain can live within its means and... provide the solid foundation for a private sector recovery." to top Housing market news Rightmove house price index: ‘Broken’ housing market challenge for new Government The latest Rightmove house price index, released this week, reported that: There had been a modest May increase in new sellers’ average asking prices, up by 0.7% (£1,622) – from £235,512 in April to £237,134; There was a surge of new sellers just before the election – the highest weekly figure since June 2008; There was a sharp rise in unsold stock as the ‘broken’ housing market is unable to perform at required volumes – another issue for the new Con-Lib Government; The annual rate of increase dropped to 4.3% as increased stock level begin to exert downward price pressure. Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Rightmove comments: “We observed last month that rising prices and more properties coming to market would be unhappy bedfellows in the long-term. This month we are seeing signs that the relationship is under increasing stress. Sellers are starting to reduce their pricing expectations to court the fewer buyers who are able to proceed, though the number of buyers who can purchase is too low to bring volume back to the housing market. The ugly ducklings in the housing beauty parade will be left on the shelf. “The election was held in the middle of the spring selling season, but there is little sign that it deterred people from selling their houses. New sellers have already been holding back on coming to market for nearly two years, and as kids do not stop growing in a recession, some family houses must be bursting at the seams. While sellers don’t appear to be put off, the rising levels of unsold stock indicate that buyers are not as willing or able to act upon their pent-up moving desires.” Read more to top CML: March sees continued growth in house purchase activity House purchase lending increased by 45% year on year in March, making it the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to figures released this week by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Remortgaging, however, was 29% down year on year, the 23rd consecutive annual fall. This shows the continuing trend of recovering house purchase activity but a moribund remortgage market. The 45,000 loans for house purchase in March (worth £6.3bn), were up 25% in volume (24% in value) from February and the 28,000 loans for remortgage (worth £3.5bn) were up 23% in volume (21% in value). For the first quarter as a whole, there were 112,000 loans for house purchase (worth £16.1bn), down from 171,000 (worth £23.3bn) in the last quarter of 2009 and 74,000 remortgage loans (worth £9.3bn) down from 89,000 (worth £11.1bn) in the last three months of 2009. No trend can be inferred from this though, given the distortion caused by the end of the stamp duty holiday in December First-time buyer activity is now rebounding faster than home-mover activity with 17,300 loans to first-time buyers (worth £2bn) in March, up 27% on February and 42% on March 2009. The 27,500 home-mover loans (worth £4.3bn) was a 24% rise in volume (23% in value) on February and a 49% rise in volume (65% in value) on March last year. March also saw first-time buyers borrow an average of 76% of the property price for the second month running. This is the first time average deposits for first-time buyers have been lower than 25% for more than one month since January 2009. CML say only time will tell if this genuinely reflects a tentative sign of easing, but for the time being deposit constraints remain tight in all areas of lending. Read more to top Industry news CLG: House Building: March Quarter 2010, England The latest national statistics on house building were released under the auspices of the UK Statistics Authority this week. Statistics in this release present figures on new build housing starts and completions in England. The latest statistics report on the period January to March 2010 and update those previously released on 18th February 2010. Key points from the latest release are: There were 24,930 seasonally adjusted house building starts in England in the March quarter 2010. This is 13% higher than in the previous quarter and 62% above the trough in the March quarter 2009, but 49% below their March quarter 2007 peak; Private enterprise housing starts (seasonally adjusted) were 16% higher than in the December quarter 2009. By comparison starts by registered social landlords remained unchanged on the previous quarter; Housing completions in England fell by 6% to an estimated 26,090 (seasonally adjusted) in the March quarter 2010 compared to the previous quarter. This follows a 7% fall between the September 2009 and December 2009 quarters; Private enterprise housing completions (seasonally adjusted) were 8% lower in the March quarter 2010 than the December quarter 2009; completions by registered social landlords rose by 3% over the same period; Annual housing completions in England totalled 113,420 in 2009-10, down by 15% compared with the 2008-09 total; The average energy efficiency (SAP rating) of new homes in England was 79.0 and in Wales 78.8 in the March quarter 2010. (The SAP rating is expressed on a scale of 1 to 100 - the higher the number, the lower the running costs). Read more to top RICS: Construction industry sees tentative signs of an improvement in sentiment Construction workloads turned positive for the first time in two years, according to the RICS UK construction market survey Q1 2010. Five percent more chartered surveyors reported rising rather than falling workloads for the first quarter of 2010. This compares with a net balance of 12% reporting falls in Q4 2009. This positive turnaround reverses a decline which has stretched for seven consecutive quarters and is the first time that the net balance has turned positive since the first quarter of 2008 when it was one percent. However, this improvement masks considerable sector variation with some surveyors reporting concerns over a lack of finance for development. The private commercial workloads net balance increased from -11 to +17 and both private housing and public housing workloads moved back into positive territory, albeit only very modestly. However, surveyors in the private industrial and infrastructure sectors reported falling workloads at -9 and -4 respectively. Looking forward over the next 12 months, expectations for workloads are stable with the net balance increasing from 2 - 4%. However, expectations for employment and profits are fairly downbeat with surveyors expecting both further job losses and a contraction in margins. Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist commented: “The construction sector seems to be finally lifting its head above the recession parapet but the continuing lack of development finance remains a major obstacle to a sustainable recovery with surveyors still pessimistic about future prospects. Concerns over likely cuts in public sector capital spending programmes is another factor contributing towards the cautious stance of respondents to the survey." Read more to top HBF news HBF and HCA meet to discuss proposed core standards Members of the HBF’s Majors Sub Committee met the Homes and Communities Agency this week to discuss the Agency’s proposals for new core standards for publicly funded projects. The meeting will assist the preparation of the HBF’s response to this important public consultation, due by mid-June. If members would like more information about HBF’s emerging views or to contribute to our consultation response, please contact John Slaughter – john.slaughter@hbf.co.uk. to top Events HBF Golf Day – Tuesday 13th July 2010 – Woburn Golf Course There are now just three team places remaining for the HBF Golf day in July. The event will take place on the stunning Duke’s course at Woburn, for many years home to the British Masters and will see teams from across the industry battling to be crowned the unofficial house building golf champions. Please click here for more information to top North West Social Dinner – Friday 10th September 2010 - Manchester The HBF North West Social Dinner will this year take place on Friday 10th September at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Everyone is welcome at an event that attracts members from across the North and Midlands. Always a lively and fun event, regular attendees are booking keenly for what will be a fun filled industry evening. Please click here to find out more. to top Housing Market Intelligence 2010 – 12th October, Savoy Place, London This year’s Housing Market Intelligence conference and annual report launch will be held on Tuesday 12th October at Savoy Place in London. Now in its eighth year, Housing Market Intelligence has become the leading strategic conference for the house building industry. This year the event is expected to sum up the new political climate nearly six months after the election, as well as providing analysis and insight into the market, the economy, the sustainability agenda, mortgages and all the key issues for house builders and associated companies. Full details will be published over the summer but note the date in your diary today! to top HBF Planning Conference This year’s HBF Planning Conference will take place on Thursday 16th September at the Hilton Hotel in Bristol. More details to follow. to top Housebuilder Awards 2010 - Thursday 28th October, London Now in its sixth year - the prestigious awards bring together the best of innovation and excellence in the house building industry. The Housebuilder Awards are the highlight of the house building calendar, celebrating the very best of the industry and recognising the achievements of those leading the way in innovation. This year the winners will be announced at a glamorous black tie event on the night of Thursday 28th October at the Millennium London Mayfair Hotel. The short list and booking form will released in June, but for further information and updates, please visit http://www.house-builder.co.uk/awards/ to top HBF Ball – Friday 10th December – London. Also returning for 2010 on Friday 10th December at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London, is the HBF Ball, traditionally the social highlight of the industry’s year. For more details please click here to top Last chance to enter the 2010 Building for Life Awards The closing date for this year’s Building for Life awards is 28th May 2010. Each year the Building for Life awards celebrate the best new homes and neighbourhoods in England. Winning an award is the first step to gaining national recognition for your new housing scheme. Any scheme – or phase of a scheme – can be entered if: It was completed after 1st April 2009 or; It is least 50% complete by 28th May 2010. Building for Life – led by CABE and the Home Builders Federation - is the national standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods. It does not demand bespoke or contemporary designs. It is about high-quality homes in well laid-out neighbourhoods and streets with a strong sense of identity – creating attractive, convenient and sustainable places to live in. Anyone can enter an eligible housing scheme for the Building for Life awards, including architects, developers, housing associations and planners. Entering is straightforward. Please click here for further information and to download an application form. Please email bflawards@cabe.org.uk or call Tessa Kordeczka on 020 7070 6769 if you have any questions about entering the awards. to top Robust Details Roadshows 2010 – agenda announced These Robust Details seminars will provide delegates with a full update on robust details’ developments. As well as the ‘latest news’ affecting Part E and sound insulation, the seminars will anticipate the effects of the new Part L on the design of separating walls and floors. A full panel of experts will be on hand for all your sound insulation concerns The 2010 RDL Roadshows will provide a full update on what we have found 'in the field' and will pass on some of the lessons learned from tests and site inspections. Dates and venues: 30th June - Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield 1st July - RICOH Arena, Coventry 15th July - Sandown Racecourse, Surrey Importantly, you'll have an opportunity to look at what's coming next. Amongst other things, the effect the new Part L and changes to The Code for Sustainable Homes will have on the construction of separating elements. Please click here for more information, to book a place and to view the agenda, or call events on 020 7960 1646 with any queries. to top For other HBF events visit the website http://www.hbf.co.uk/index.php?id=eventsandmeetings For HBM events visit http://www.hbmedia.co.uk/ to top Rosie Hinchliffe View Previous Weekly News Summary
