Eastleigh Council leader Keith House has written on the party website about the potential of the new Housing Finance Institute to ensure that we build the houses we need to tackle the housing crisis we face in this country:
The aims of the HFI are to increase housing supply across all tenures; to unlock opportunities for the public sector and to help business to deliver and finance housing.
The HFI was a key recommendation of the Government-commissioned Elphicke-House Report 2015. Over the course of a year-long review, Natalie Elphicke and I listened to more than 400 organisations from across the nation. The organisations came from all parts of the housing and finance industries as well as local and national government. They made the case for a new approach that would bring everyone together. The idea for the HFI was born and made a key recommendation of our report. Councils can do more, working with housing associations and developers, with private and public finance. My own Council, Eastleigh, is building homes for affordable and private rent, and homes for sale.
There are three things the HFI can do:
The priority for the HFI is to help increase the speed and number of new homes financed across all tenures. We will support new and smaller businesses as well as established players who want to do more. We will bring the public and private sectors together with the money needed to make things happen. We will seek to build skills, capacity and relationships – particularly between businesses and local authorities that want to do more and become housing delivery enablers.
The HFI will also seek to share new ideas and best practice – promoting new business and finance models as well as innovative techniques and methods for building more homes. It’s also critical to identify and promote new development opportunities – while bringing local government, central government and businesses together to make it happen.
Most importantly, the HFI is not an exclusive club. Anyone can get involved. We particularly welcome public sector organisations which want to be housing delivery enablers, smaller private sector businesses seeking to grow and bigger players who want to do more. The HFI is not for profit and self-funding through its membership and business engagement work.
Another example of liberal values turned into practical policy.
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One Comment
Until everyone gets determined enough to see some sense in what needs to be achieved this discussion carries on. We need housing suppliers and social housing that has interest in finding ways forward. We can’t house the world, but I do believe there ways to get countries back into some order and working towards a better world.
The EU has gone too far, I have sympathy for Greece a pleasant holiday destination as with Spain. The banks, have been partly to blame in some other areas of the world.
I can’t agree to an EU as it is, that should have some thoughts and cuts to how its run.