Levelling Up White Paper Published

Posted on February 17th, 2022

See the full document here; Levelling Up the United Kingdom: Executive Summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Levelling up is a moral, social and economic programme for the whole of government. The Levelling Up White Paper is a flagship document that sets out how we will spread opportunity more equally across the UK. It comprises a bold programme of systems change, including 12 UK-wide missions to anchor the agenda to 2030, alongside specific policy interventions that build on the 2021 Spending Review to deliver change now.

Here is what the White Paper says on housing;

”By 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with
the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and
the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent
rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest
improvements in the lowest performing areas.”

”We will also regenerate 20 of our towns and cities by assembling and
remediating brownfield land and working with the private sector to bring
about transformational developments combining housing, retail and business in
sustainable, walkable, beautiful new neighbourhoods. These new
developments amongst others will be supported by an Office for Place which
will pioneer design and beauty, promoting better architectural aesthetics to
ensure they enhance existing settlements, gladden the eye and lift the heart.”

”Our aim with these reforms is to improve pride in place in every area of the UK,
with the gap between top performing and other areas narrowing (Mission Nine).
Poor housing quality, overcrowding and a reliance on temporary accommodation
for vulnerable families also contribute to unnecessarily poor health and quality
of life for many. We will take action on two fronts. First, building more housing in
England, including more genuinely affordable social housing. Second, we will
launch a new drive on housing quality to make sure homes are ft for the
21st century.”

”To deliver our mission to improve housing conditions, we will introduce new
legislation to improve the quality and regulation of social housing, give
residents performance information so that they can hold their landlord to
account and ensure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take quick
and effective action to put things right. And we will publish a landmark White
Paper in the spring to consult on introducing a legally binding Decent Homes
Standard in the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever, explore a
National Landlord Register and bring forward other measures to reset the
relationship between landlords and tenants, including through ending section
21 “no fault evictions”.

This will all help to ensure that by 2030, renters will have a secure path to
ownership with the number of frst-time buyers increasing in all areas; and our
ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%
with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas (Mission Ten).”