4 Industry News


Managing Editor James Parker


Publisher Anthony Parker


Account Director Midge Myatt


Senior Account Manager Steve Smith


Digital Marketing & PR Account Manager Suzanne Easter


Sales Junior Jamie Weeks


Operations Director Shelley Collyer


Events Coordinator Amy Madigan


Studio Manager Mikey Pooley


Production Assistant Georgia Musson


Digital Production Coordinator Kim Musson


Digital Marketing & Social Media Assistant Nathan Hunt


Feature Coordinator & Publisher’s Assistant Kim Neville


Finance Director Simon Reed


Angela Rayner and her deputy at the Ministry of Housing, Matthew Pennycook, have written to all council


leaders, setting out clear


pointers on funding allocations from the 10-year Social and Aff ordable Homes Programme. T is is of course welcome, giving councils far greater powers in managing their investment monies, including enabling them to retain all Right to Buy receipts – once the holy grail, although receipts have dropped signifi cantly. Also, three councils (Cambridge, Eastleigh and Newcastle) have been confi rmed as Homes England Strategic


Partners, Editor’s Comment theoretically bringing large amounts of leverage for developing new and


existing sites. However, the £10bn initial funding confi rmed for the programme only specifi es 60% social rent, which


is certainly a climbdown from Andy Burnham’s original ambitions. Angela and Matthew also clarifi ed Burnham’s comments around it being the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war period,” saying that it’s actually the biggest “since the post-war boom ended,” i.e. since the 1980s. In the “early years” of the programme, London will (per capita) receive the lion’s share of the funding


for building social and aff ordable homes (30%), and “up to £11.7bn overall across the lifetime of the programme.” How devolution elsewhere in England will aff ect allocations is less clear, but the letter to councils says that “more funding will fl ow directly” to Mayoral authorities. T e sector has unsurprisingly given this all a warm welcome – Kate Henderson of the National Housing


Federation called it a “major vote of confi dence in not-for-profi t housing associations.” She added: “Working in partnership with government, councils and mayors, they have used the support and certainty provided by government to rebuild their development capacity, invest in skills, and be the strong and reliable partners needed to build a new generation of social and aff ordable homes, alongside increasing investment in their existing homes. T is is no better demonstrated than in the scale and ambition of the bids submitted to this Social and Aff ordable Homes Programme.” Gavin Smart, chief executive at the CIH, said: “If delivered at pace, this investment has the potential to


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On the cover...


Encasement’s experience of working with UK contractors on countless social housing projects has formed the basis of a new video, which illustrates how installation times can be reduced signifi cantly when using pre-formed boxing compared to site made. See page 18.


Housing Management & Maintenance Autumn 2026 AUTUMN 2026 HOUSING MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE PERFECT PIPE BOXING


WITH ENCASEMENT Read more on page 18


reduce homelessness, ease pressure on temporary accommodation and help more people access a safe, secure and aff ordable home.” T e Government is rebranding its skills and capacity programme as Capacity to Build with “an


extra” £46m over the next three years – bolstering the Council Housebuilding Support Fund, Council Housebuilding Support Service, and the Pathways to Planning graduate scheme to bring new planners into the sector. T at money may not stretch all that far, given the task facing local authorities. T e quid pro quo is the consultation attached to the letter to councils. T ey must not only review their


“plan for increasing the supply of new homes,” “examine their fi nancial position and make use of Right to Buy receipts,” and “make full use of Section 106 opportunities.” Crucially, they must also “consider how council-owned land and buildings can be used for housebuilding,” and inform the Ministry on barriers that are “preventing them from building ambitiously and quickly.” Very big things are afoot, many of which will land on HMM readers’ doorsteps, with the associated pros and cons, in the coming months.


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