National summit in Leeds lays foundations for new era of council housing growth

The one-day national summit, held at Leeds City Museum and the Carriageworks Theatre, has been organised by Leeds City Council in partnership with Southwark Council and Sheffield City Council.

By bringing together around 200 representatives from central government, local authorities, charities and other key stakeholders, the event aims to shape the future of council housing and – crucially – help put it on a more stable and sustainable long-term financial footing.

This morning’s programme included speeches in Leeds City Museum’s showpiece Brodrick Hall from Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor Sarah King, leader of Southwark Council, and Councillor Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council.

The day’s keynote speech was delivered remotely by the Rt Hon Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Mr Reed’s speech highlighted a number of recent housing policy announcements by the Government – including a new Decent Homes Standard – as well as the opening last month of a window for bids for grant funding from a £39bn Social and Affordable Housing Programme.

The summit also featured interactive breakout workshops where speakers and panel members were due to include Alicia Walker (assistant director of activism and advocacy at Shelter), Dilys Jones (assistant director of affordable housing growth at Homes England) and Nic Bliss (campaign director at Stop Social Housing Stigma).

Today’s event is the third summit of its kind, with Southwark and Sheffield handling hosting duties in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

2024 also saw the publication of a report entitled Securing the Future of Council Housing, which was co-ordinated by Southwark and backed by an unprecedented cross-party coalition of more than 100 local authorities.

The subsequent summits have been designed to press the case for the recommendations of the report – most notably, the creation of a new and sustainable model for the funding of council housing – to be implemented as soon as practicably possible.

Key goals of today’s summit in Leeds included:

• Restating shared policy priorities, while also agreeing on a strategic campaigning approach that will allow the coalition to ramp up the effectiveness of its calls for change in the year ahead;
• Equipping councils with tools, data and messaging know-how that will help them maximise their influence on national decision-making;
• Exploring how best to amplify the voices and views of council housing residents.

Topics for the day’s breakout sessions include ‘Putting residents first’, ‘Fixing council housing finances’ and ‘Regeneration that works for everyone’.

The Rt Hon Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said:

 “Council housing provides thousands of families with a safe affordable home, but previous governments created a shortage by failing to build more.

“We are backing councils to get building again, with an historic £39bn investment for new homes and reforms to stop newly built council homes being sold off. This means councils can now build at a scale not seen for years. 

 “I’m looking forward to working with the council housing coalition to build the next generation of council homes the people of this country need.”

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“As one of the largest housing stock-holding local authorities in the country, we are under no illusions about the financial pressures being faced by councils as they work to maintain and provide high-quality homes for the communities they serve.

“Progress is being made but it’s clear that more has to be done to give local authorities the resources they need to perform this vital role as effectively as possible.

“We’re pleased and proud, therefore, that Leeds is hosting today’s Securing the Future of Council Housing Summit. The event will play a crucial part in drawing renewed national attention to councils’ housing finance challenges and identifying ways in which our collective issues can be solved.”

Councillor Sarah King, leader of Southwark Council, said:

“Good council homes change lives and it’s vital future generations benefit from them like the countless millions who already have. 

“After years of neglect at the national level we've seen major steps including limits to right-to-buy – which has led to the loss of so many council homes – and a rent settlement to pay for investment and new homes. 

“But we know more is needed – especially fixing the broken council house finance settlement. We will keep working with government to secure decent homes for all.”

Councillor Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, said:

“Councils are playing a major role in tackling the housing crisis, driving forward regeneration and building the homes we need.

“The Government has taken significant and positive steps to support councils to improve the quality and quantity of council housing and we’ll continue to work collaboratively to make sure that local councils shape national decision-making.

 “This summit has shown that councils are playing a leading role in developing the homes that our communities need. Working with residents, we will ensure that the voices of council housing residents play a central role in shaping the future of council housing.”

Today’s event has received sponsorship support from Mears, Efficiency North, YORhub, Vistry, Equans and Lovell.

ENDS