PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Housing: Construction (24 January 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 103540 on Housing: Construction, if he will provide further basis to the statement that lower household projections do not mean fewer homes need to be built.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been clear lower household projections do not mean fewer homes are needed – in some cases they reflect existing under-supply, where lack of provision stops new households from forming. The ONS has also been clear that household projections are not forecasts; they do not attempt to predict the impact of future public policy, changing economic circumstances or other factors that may influence household growth.

The 2014-based household projections are used within the standard method to provide stability for planning authorities and communities, to ensure that historic under-supply and declining affordability are ultimately reflected in housing requirements, and to support the Government’s objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes.

Answered by:
Christopher Pincher (Independent)
1 February 2022