Andy Burnham Pledges New Housing and Homelessness Targets

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a national strategy to tackle England's housing and homelessness crises, pledging to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029 and end rough sleeping. To support these goals, Burnham intends to redirect a £39 billion 10-year affordable housing budget toward social rent and council housing, while allocating an additional £340 million over five years to combat homelessness.

Industry leaders have cautioned that these targets are unrealistic without a massive increase in the labor force. Michael Newey, chief executive of Broadland Housing Association, noted that the construction industry faces over 140,000 vacancies and requires approximately 250,000 additional workers to meet government goals. Newey argued that funding must prioritize education and training to avoid a total reliance on foreign professionals.

Burnham's commitment to end rough sleeping draws on his experience as Mayor of Greater Manchester, where he implemented "Housing First" and "a bed every night" schemes. While rough sleeping in Manchester initially fell from 268 people in 2017 to 90 in 2021, numbers climbed back to 197 by 2025. This fluctuation led critics, including shadow housing secretary James Cleverly and Reform representative Robert Jenrick, to argue that Burnham failed his original regional pledges and is unfit to lead the national effort.