Tackling twin crises: how can the Government deliver new homes while meeting climate goals?

1.5 million new homes and net zero by 2050: can the Government do both?  

A safe, secure and affordable place to live is the foundation of a healthy and prosperous life. But the UK is facing an acute shortage of homes. What is to be done, and how do we ensure environmental targets are still delivered? The latest episode of Committee Corridor, the podcast from Select Committees at the House of Commons, considers the housing crisis. 

Ahead of the Spending Review (on June 11), host Toby Perkins MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, asks: how do we build enough homes, ensuring they are both of high enough quality and contribute to meeting our environmental and nature goals?   

Toby speaks to Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF) which represents housing associations, who sets out the scale of priorities facing the sector; how buildings need to adapt to climate changes by improving energy efficiency and the sector’s commitment to improving the condition of quality and safety of residents’ homes.  

Labour MP Joe Powell, member of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, tells Toby what the Committee found when it recently explored the issue of temporary accommodation. Meanwhile former House of Lords Built Environment Committee Chair Lord Moylan voices concerns over the clarity of proposed planning reforms.