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In Focus

Key takeaways and talking points from the Housing Community Summit 2025

From the departure of Rayner and the rise of Reform, to boosting skills, new funding models and decent homes, attendees at this year’s Housing Community Summit were not short of topics to talk about. Here are the key talking points from Liverpool

What does the appointment of Steve Reed as new housing secretary mean for the sector?

Angela Rayner’s replacement held the shadow housing brief in 2021 and now he returns to the role in government. But although he has promised to ‘build, baby, build’, Reed lacks the influence on Keir Starmer that his predecessor had

The Reform party conference: what a Farage government would mean for housing, investment and ‘net-stupid-zero’

Despite being largely overshadowed by the resignation of Angela Rayner, the two-day event in Birmingham showed a party which is evolving from a protest group into an organisation that is seriously preparing for government. Tom Lowe looks at what a country led by Nigel Farage would mean for housing

‘Not just transactions’: Richard Blakeway explains how he wants to work with the sector to ensure complaints are a catalyst for real change

The Housing Ombudsman talks to Carl Brown about his drive for transparency and shared learning and tackling the ‘twin demons of denial and deflection’ in the sector.

The plan to cut the gateway 2 backlog: Key points from Tuesday’s parliamentary hearings on the BSR

This week saw an unusual amount of scrutiny of the Building Safety Regulator, with committees in both the Commons and the Lords examining the issue. Daniel Gayne watched the debates to find out where the troubled institution is headed

The housing sector was delighted with the spending review – but lack of transport investment could scupper its delivery in London

After setting out a vision for development centred on public transit links, the mayor of London came out of the spending review empty handed. Can London build 88,000 homes a year without new infrastructure? Daniel Gayne reports.

Who is Amy Rees? Everything you need to know about new Homes England chief

MHCLG’s pick to lead the government’s delivery agency came out of left field. So what do we know about the new quango boss? And what does her appointment tell us about Homes England’s future?

Ahead of a £1.5bn development, Populo Living shares its plan to boost regeneration in Newham

In 2018, a new mayor tasked Newham’s housing company with building more affordable homes. Seven years later, its getting ready for its biggest scheme yet. Daniel Gayne headed east to find out more.

Nansledan: can design codes and long-term stewardship deliver better housing?

Mary Richardson visits Nansledan, the Duchy of Cornwall’s urban extension to Newquay. While its traditional architecture divides opinion, she finds that the project raises important questions about planning and designing new housing at scale

‘The sector now feels a sense of responsibility to play its part’ – Gavin Smart on the blizzard of policies announced in the past few weeks

The Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive reflects on the sector’s to-do list for the next few months. Carl Brown reports

‘We brought Livv back from the brink of destruction’…Léann Hearne on personal and professional challenges and what comes next

The CEO of Livv Group announced in April that she was stepping down in response to a series of “personal challenges” involving her family. She tells Matilda Battersby about her journey

Is the government’s Building Safety Regulator shake-up enough to fix the delays?

The government has promised to speed up approvals for high-rise residential schemes which have been languishing for up to a year in the new building safety regime. With patience running out and costs mounting, Tom Lowe speaks to the people caught up in the delays