National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

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