"Angela Rayner delivers keynote speech at UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum, emphasizing 'construction, construction, construction'"
In the heart of the UK's real estate sector, the 2023 UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) kicked off today, with Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, delivering the opening remarks.
Rayner emphasised the urgent need for housing, stating that it is "desperately needed after years of failure." She highlighted the importance of not only building new homes but also creating community assets such as GP surgeries and parks.
The Labour Party's specific plans for housing and real estate, as revealed in the recent Spending Review, focus heavily on addressing the affordable homes shortage through a substantial investment programme. The centrepiece of this plan is a £39 billion affordable homes programme over the next decade, aimed at delivering up to 500,000 new social homes. This represents the largest government commitment to affordable housing in 50 years.
The programme envisions around 300,000 social and affordable homes being delivered, with approximately 180,000 designated for Social Rent. The government plans to set initial delivery targets for Homes England and the Greater London Authority after receiving bids from Registered Providers and will publish a full prospectus in autumn 2025 to open bids in winter.
To rebuild the housing sector’s capacity to borrow and invest, Labour has committed to allowing social housing rents to increase by CPI+1% annually starting April 2026. This doubles the rent settlement period from five to ten years for greater long-term certainty for landlords and investors. They are also providing over £1 billion in remediation funding and making available £2.5 billion in low-interest loans to support new development alongside commercial lending.
A convergence mechanism will be implemented as part of the new rent settlement to balance supply, quality, rent impact, and fiscal responsibility. Details are expected at the Autumn Budget later in 2025.
The Labour Party's strategy in the Spending Review reflects a significant cash injection into social and affordable housing, aiming to catalyse the biggest expansion of affordable housing stock in decades while also unlocking private investment and improving housing sector capacity. These plans are backed by reforms to rents, investment funding, and a streamlined delivery framework to maximise impact over the coming decade.
However, Rayner did not call on councils to update their local plans during her 2025 UKREiiF speech, nor did she urge new regional mayors to take control of planning. She did not express frustration that the target for building new towns has not been met or discuss any new plans in the Spending Review.
The UK's only specialist construction college is situated in Leeds, a testament to the country's commitment to nurturing the next generation of construction professionals. The UKREiiF, scheduled to take place from Tuesday 20th May until Thursday 22nd May 2025, provides a platform for industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to discuss and shape the future of the UK's real estate and infrastructure sectors.
[1] HM Government (2023) Labour's Spending Review: Building a Better Future. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/labours-spending-review/labours-spending-review-building-a-better-future [2] HM Government (2024) Labour's Affordable Homes Programme: Prospectus. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/labours-affordable-homes-programme-prospectus/labours-affordable-homes-programme-prospectus
- The Labour Party's strategy in the 2023 Spending Review is a significant cash injection into social and affordable housing, aiming to catalyze the biggest expansion of affordable housing stock in decades while also unlocking private investment and improving housing sector capacity.
- Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, spoke about the urgent need for housing at the 2025 UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), emphasizing the need for not only building new homes but also creating community assets such as GP surgeries and parks.
- To address the affordable homes shortage, the Labour Party's specific plans focus on a £39 billion affordable homes programme over the next decade, aiming to deliver up to 500,000 new social homes, with around 300,000 designated for Social Rent.
- In the realm of policy and legislation, the Labour Party has committed to reforms to rents, investment funding, and a streamlined delivery framework to maximise impact over the coming decade in the real-estate sector, deepening the involvement of the government in finance and investing in real estate.
