Queen’s speech trails new ‘first homes’ policy

Boris Johnson has used the Queen’s speech to set out plans to create low-cost homes for local first-time buyers in today’s state opening of Parliament.

The Queen’s speech, which outlines the legislative agenda for the year ahead, also included references to protecting tenants, improving building safety and prioritising home ownership.

The Queen said: “My government will take steps to support home ownership, including by making homes available at a discount for local first-time buyers.”

This pledge follows the Tory manifesto promise to get homes built for sale at a discount of 30% to local purchasers. It is being viewed as a re-working of the failed starter homes initiative.

The briefing notes put out by the government alongside the Queen’s speech said the government will “shortly launch a consultation on first homes. This will provide homes for local people and key workers at a discount of at least 30 per cent - saving them tens of thousands of pounds.”

The discount would be secured through a covenant, ensuring that the homes remain affordable in perpetuity. The briefing also confirmed that the discount would be funded by developers, and said that it “will consider both planning changes and legislation in order to deliver this [policy]”.

However, legislation to enable starter homes is already on the statute books, so it is unclear what new laws will be needed to make the first homes policy a reality.

The notes also made clear that the government will publish a planning white paper in the “coming months” designed to make “the planning process clearer, more accessible and more certain for all users, including homeowners and small businesses”.

This is thought likely to be a development of the previously trailed accelerate planning green paper, which had been due for publication last month but fell foul of the general election. The briefing said the white paper will “address resourcing and performance in planning departments”.

The briefing notes also re-iterated a number of other manifesto promises, such as the pledge to build a million homes over the parliament, and create a £10bn single housing infrastructure fund.

The speech included other pledges on housing that will form part of the legislative programme in the year ahead.

The Queen said: “New measures will be brought forward to protect tenants” – a reference to the manifesto pledge to end no-fault evictions. However, the briefing made clear that this law will also strengthen the rights of landlords to gain possession of their property “when they have a valid reason to do so”.

A building safety bill will also be brought forward to bring in laws needed to embed the post-Grenfell changes to fire safety, such as new criminal sanctions for those that breach safety rules, and the formation of a new regulator.

The briefing said the law would create an “enhanced safety framework for high-rise residential buildings, taking forward the recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building safety”, describing it as a “a new system to oversee the whole built environment”.

The government will also legislate to require housing developers to become members of the new homes ombudsman scheme that it is setting up.