ANOTHER new Housing Minister – industry response

Kit Malthouse has been named as the eighth Housing Minister since 2010 after Dominic Rabb was announced as the new Brexit secretary yesterday.

Commenting on the announcement that Kit Malthouse MP is the new Housing Minister, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “Another week, another Housing Minister. The industry has long bemoaned the turnstile approach to this crucial role but the pace of change is quickening.  We’re now going through two Housing Ministers a year. Dominic Raab, Kit Malthouse’s predecessor, was only in post for a mere six months and before that, Alok Sharma was in the position for just seven months. The Government claims that housing is a priority yet this constant chopping and changing in terms of the person leading the charge would suggest otherwise.”

“Having said this, we congratulate Kit Malthouse, who we look forward to working with to tackle the various challenges. We are hopeful that he will be given longer to take housing policy forward than his predecessors.”

Tackling the housing shortage

The CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses across England and Wales has welcome North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse as new Housing Minister.

CLA President Tim Breitmeyer said “Tackling the housing crisis is the principle domestic policy challenge of this generation. The shortage of homes is not only experienced in towns and cities but across our rural areas too. It is vital that the new Housing Minister shows strong leadership to navigate both the housing and planning systems.

“Ensuring the right type of homes are built in the countryside can breathe new life into villages and give these communities the chance to survive the future. However, positive development is too often held back by policies which do little to promote sustainable housing growth across rural areas.

“We welcome the fact that a rural MP is taking over this brief and I look forward to working with Mr Malthouse to ensure that landowners are part of the solution to help solve the rural housing crisis.”

Meaningful change?

David Orr, Chief Executive at the National Housing Federation, said “Congratulations to Kit Malthouse MP on his new position. We’ve had constructive dialogue with him in his role at the Department of Work and Pensions, and it is positive that someone with an understanding of the strong links between welfare and housing has been appointed as Housing Minister. We look forward to continuing our close work with Mr Malthouse to solve the country’s housing crisis. Housing must remain a priority for this Government and housing associations will continue to be constructive and vital partners.

“However, this is the eighth housing minister in eight years. Theresa May has made it her personal mission to fix the housing crisis and if the Prime Minister is serious about this, she now needs to make sure Mr Malthouse actually has enough time to get to grips with the real scale of the problem, and make meaningful change.”