Tim Reid, customer relationship director at NHBC, shines a spotlight on the latest English devolution proposal and its potential impact on housing delivery
Announcements around devolution invariably give rise to cliched headlines of “revolution”. But whisper it quietly: could the government’s new bill truly help transform house building across England?
With an ambitious target of 1.5m new homes to deliver by the end of this parliament, Downing Street certainly needs it to.
The current mood is, after all, very much mixed, with the number of first EPCs down 8% in the 12 months to June 2025 – but applications to build outside of London up 49% year on year.
Enter the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25, to be debated in its second reading presently.
Looking local
Continuing the pattern of shifting decision making from Westminster to regions that took shape in the late 1990s, the aim is to empower local areas to deliver the changes needed on their doorsteps.
At the heart of the bill’s approach is the creation of strategic authorities.
Combined authorities such as those in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, not to mention the Greater London Authority, already work to join up thinking in large regions with strong economic and cultural ties.
Now, by providing them with greater powers and changing the structure of regional government more broadly, it is hoped that the resulting three-tiered strategic authority system will give local leaders extra leeway to drive growth throughout the country.
So what could the new proposals mean for the construction industry, and how might further devolution impact housing delivery and skills provision?
The affordability ambition
Perhaps the starkest and most pressing need from both a moral and political standpoint is to address the shortage of affordable housing.
With more than 1.3m people on waiting lists in 2023-24 and waiting lists for social housing in excess of 74 or even 100 years in some local authorities in England – it’s clear that some of the most vulnerable in society are in real crisis.
The bill’s provision of additional planning powers to the mayors of current combined and combined county authorities could play a small role in addressing this sizeable challenge.
These leaders would be able to refuse strategically important planning applications or grant approval more quickly in the same way as the Mayor of London can currently.
In addition to these and other new capabilities, it would also be easier to set up mayoral development corporations to lead regeneration projects.
This increased flexibility and autonomy means strategic authorities should be able to better reflect specific local demand and conditions by prioritising the types of infrastructure projects money goes towards.
We’ve already heard larger combined authorities argue that existing devolution is allowing them to do precisely this.
The Mayor of the West Midlands pointed out that he has used his combined authority’s funding to “unlock schemes that will provide more than 500 new social homes” and feel confident in committing to building 20,000 in total over the next decade.
A £1.5bn devolution deal struck between West Midlands Combined Authority and the national government in 2023 has certainly aided this cause, creating brownfield regeneration funding schemes worth more than £130m.
But of course, priorities in other areas may differ, with ruling politicians free to decide on what kinds of housing – and where – to invest in.
More influence, more sites?
An Englishman’s home is famously his castle, and satisfying the unending demand to get on or move up the ladder will only help release more new and existing properties for residents of all kinds.
The promises of greater speed and reduced red tape should be positive for private sector construction, yet their commitment will, of course, ultimately depend on their confidence in investing and wider market conditions.
Creating new homes at scale relies on close collaboration between local government and businesses that can sometimes be difficult to achieve.
For example, Greater Manchester Combined Authority sought to use its extensive reach to generate new infrastructure through its Spatial Framework in 2020.
But the resulting Places for Everyone plan fell short of the initial target to deliver 50,000 affordable homes, with Stockport Council having withdrawn its involvement, reports of pushback from developers and the challenges of building on brownfield sites.
It’s an indication, perhaps, that simple devolution to regional leaders is no silver bullet – or might the extra powers enjoyed by the new strategic authorities mean they’re better able to hold sway over private home builders?
Preparing the next generation
Then there’s the factor of skills – or rather, the lack thereof.
Figures from CITB suggest that as many as 61,000 extra workers are needed every year to meet the magic number of 1.5m new homes.
Achieving this will only be possible with the engagement and assistance of the new strategic authorities, who must help to provide the education and training required to equip the bricklayers, electricians and other tradespeople of tomorrow.
Quite frankly, it’s a tall order even with national and regional government intervention.
That’s why NHBC is establishing a network of 12 multi-skill training hubs, investing £100m to create first-class facilities that will support up to 3,000 apprenticeships a year.
The apprentices gaining practical experiences at these realistic site-like hubs will help address the challenge of an ageing workforce, with 2024’s UK Trade Skills Index claiming that some 35% of workers in construction are aged 50 or over.
But national statistics are never entirely reflective of the local picture, in which specific trades can sometimes be in greater or lesser decline than elsewhere.
Empowering strategic authorities with further devolution could therefore see mayors able to steer skills funding or employment policies where they are needed most.
It’s a potentially exciting development for house builders and economies alike, yet – as ever with major government bills – the proof will be in the pudding.
NHBC’s role in housing delivery
An established and trusted industry partner, NHBC provides unrivalled support throughout a development’s build journey, helping you build it right first time.
As a direct insurer underwriting its own policies, NHBC has a vested interest in the prevention of structural defects.
We offer a unique, tailored approach, from conception to completion, providing long-term asset protection benefitting developers, housing providers and residents.
If you’d like to learn more about how NHBC can help local authorities, contact Tim by emailing treid@nhbc.co.uk.
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