The latest NPPF was issued in December 2024. This document reflects the Government’s Plan for Change pledge to kickstart economic growth, partly through delivering planning reform to build 1.5 million new homes. The NPPF sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these should be applied. 

Homes England Strategic Plan 2023 to 2028

Homes England are the government’s housing and regeneration agency. They work in collaboration with local government, housebuilders, developers, housing associations, infrastructure providers, landowners and lenders to deliver change. Homes England own over 9,000 hectares of land and £16 billion of combined capital spend to deploy by March 2028. 

The Strategic Plan 2023 to 2028 sets out how Homes England will use their land and funding "to address geographic inequalities in the built environment and deliver better homes and places for the people who need them."

This work will include bespoke partnering with local authorities to plan and deliver housing and mixed-use schemes. Homes England also pledge to “support local authorities to deliver the affordable housing needed by their communities. This includes their capacity to deliver new council housing.”

Homes England Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021 to 2026

The AHP is one of the primary vehicles used by government for the delivery of affordable housing in England. It allocates grant funding to local authorities and housing associations to help support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale. The AHP 2021 to 2026 provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing in England. 

Housing legislation

Including, but not limited to:

• Housing Act 2004
• Housing Act 1984
• Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
• Home Energy Conservation Act 1995
• Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
• Environmental Protection Act 1990
• Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations
• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022
• The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) 2006
• Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and other houses (miscellaneous provisions) (England) Regulations 2006
• Localism Act 2011 (Part 7)
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017

Rough sleeping in England: local and national government action

Published on 28 January 2025, this briefing document outlines the legal framework that governs local authority homelessness duties. It also provides an overview of initiatives and funding programmes introduced by successive governments since 1990, and the manifesto commitments of the current government and the actions it has taken so far, including:

• a commitment to developing a cross-government homelessness strategy to be published in 2025
• £1 billion of new funding for local authorities in 2025 and 2026 to reduce and prevent homelessness
• a £185.6 million Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant for local authorities to help support people experiencing rough sleeping in their area
• over £633 million for the Homelessness Prevention Grant
• £37 million revenue funding for the Rough Sleeping Accomodation Programme

The briefing document also outlines measures still needed:

• preventing rough sleeping - focus on preventative work stopping initial instances of rough sleeping before they occur
• increasing suitable housing supply
• prioritising ending homeless across government

A Bill to change the law about rented homes, including provision abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies; imposing obligations on landlords and others in relation to rented homes and temporary and supported accommodation.

The Bill will:

• abolish section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic
• ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, giving tenants more security, while ensuring landlords can recover their property when reasonable
• provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out
• introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that will provide a quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants' complaints about their landlord
• create a Private Rented Sector Database to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, alongside providing better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement
• give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse
• apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector
• apply 'Awaab's Law' to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards
• make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children
• end the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent
• strengthen local authority enforcement by expanding civil penalties, introducing a package of investigatory powers and bringing in a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity
• strengthen rent repayment orders by extending them to superior landlords, doubling the maximum penalty and ensuring repeat offenders have to repay the maximum amount

Fuel poverty and the decarbonisation of housing stock

Sustainable Warmth is the updated Fuel Poverty Strategy for England and sets out how councils will tackle fuel poverty, while at the same time decarbonising buildings. This will ensure those in fuel poverty are not left behind on the move to net zero, and, where possible, can be some of the earliest to benefit. A review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy is currently ongoing.

In 2024, the government committed to a Warm Homes Plan to upgrade five million homes over the next five years to cut bills for families and deliver warmer homes to slash fuel poverty. This ambition is a key part of the government’s ‘second mission’ to transform Britain into a clean energy superpower, including providing the country with clean energy by 2030, reducing bills, and transitioning homes to clean heat as part of our wider ambition to reach net zero by 2050. 

The Warm Homes Plan includes an allocation of £500 million for local authorities to deliver a new ‘Warm Homes: Local Grant’ scheme from 2025 to 2028, and further plans to extend the scheme to 2030.

The government published a white paper in December 2024, to set out plans to move power out of Westminster and back to local communities. Devolution will lead to the establishment of a Mayoral Combined Authority, with the first election for a Mayor taking place in May 2026.

The Cumbria Combined Authority will potentially have greater local control over housing, as well as areas such as planning, transport, adult education and skills. 

Areas of housing responsibility would include:

• control of funding to support regeneration and housing delivery
• a strategic place partnership with Homes England
• powers to drive regeneration in their area, for example, powers to establish Mayoral Development Corporations
• work on a Spatial Development Strategy (SPD)
• following the implementation of the SDS, the Mayor would also be given powers to 'call in' planning applications of 'strategic importance'
• the ability to charge new developments with a 'Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy', the revenue collected is used to help deliver local infrastructure

Local housing authorities are no longer required to carry out a specific separate assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers in their local area. However, we still have a general duty to use a robust evidence base to establish accommodation needs. Local authorities should still consider how to meet the needs identified in the evidence base, and plan for new Gypsy and Travellers sites where a local need is identified.

When developing strategies for preventing and reducing homelessness, the local housing authority is required to consider the needs of all groups of people in their district who are homeless or likely to become homeless, including Gypsies and Travellers. They should also consider the needs and lifestyles of applicants who are Gypsy and Travellers.

Decision-making for policy concerning Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople sits within a complex legislative and national policy framework and this study must be viewed in the context of this legislation and guidance. For example, the following key pieces of legislation and guidance are relevant when developing policies relating to Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople:

• The Housing Act, 1985
• Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS), 2024
• The Housing and Planning Act, 2016
• The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), 2024
• Planning Practice Guidance3 (PPG), 2021

The primary guidance for undertaking the assessment of housing needs for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople is set out in the PPTS (2024). It should be read in conjunction with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). In addition, the Housing and Planning Act and NPPF make provision for the assessment of need for those Gypsy, Traveller and Traveller Showpeople households living on site and yards who do not meet the PPTS planning definition - through the assessment of all households living in caravans.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, including the bereaved, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives.

Its two principles are that, recognising the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the armed forces:

• those who serve in the armed forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services
• special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved

Cumberland Council is committed to the Armed Forces Covenant. The Cumbria Choice allocations policy and our suite of affordable housing policies ensure that veterans and armed forces families are not disadvantaged by local connection rules.

Housing is a key determinant of health, wellbeing and financial security. The quality of our homes can mean the difference between a good later life or one that is marred with ill-health and poverty.

The connection between inadequate housing and negative health outcomes is well-established. In 2022 to 2023 alone, 5,000 excess winter deaths were attributed to cold homes, highlighting the life-threatening consequences of inadequate heating and insulation.

Falls, exacerbated by hazardous housing conditions, resulted in 234,000 emergency admissions for people aged 65 and over in 2019 to 2020.

These preventable health issues place an unsustainable burden on the NHS, with poor housing costing the healthcare system £1.1 billion annually, of which £595 million is attributable to homes headed by people over 55.

As Lord Darzi stated in his recent review of the NHS:

The role of Disabled Facilities Grant therefore has a direct connection to managing NHS waiting lists, budgets and winter pressures. The grant programme is acknowledge as a key means by which we can 'reduce hospitalisations and prolong independence.'

The Home Improvement Agency model offers a one stop shop with access to DFGs but also a range of services, aids and changes that can be made to the home to keep people safe and warm and living independently.

A recent report by The Centre for Ageing Better identified clear benefits to service users:

• significant benefits including enhanced independence, improved safety, and better wellbeing - testimonials highlight how small adaptations such as grab rails, restore confidence and reduce anxiety
• adaptations also support improvement in mobility and helps top the decline in physical health - big changes such as stair lifts, ramps and wet rooms were life changing for those with mobility challenges
• the 'one-stop-shop' model has also been praised due to how easy it is for service users to access and use the range of services available

Benefits to the health and social care system include:

• adaptations to the home that aim to prevent falls have significant potential to reduce demand on local health services - with an estimated saving for the NHS of £1.10 for every £1 spent, and a saving for society of £4.56 for every £1 spent
• home adaptations installed by home improvement agencies as part of a hospital discharge service reduced the need for formal caregiving and enabled faster hospital discharge, saving £2,690 per discharge and reducing average bed days from 15 to 9

The Cumberland HIA will deliver physical changes to home and realise the impacts set out above. Our ambition is to go beyond this by forging a strong interconnecting relationship with the new Cumberland Council Prevention Service on pre front door activity by linking people into social prescribing services as well as household and welfare related support, and vice verse, from the preventative service into the CHIA service offer.