‘We have not built enough homes’ admits Michael Gove

Michael Gove has admtted the government is not building enough homes.

On  BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, Gove said: “There’s an increasing pressure on housing supply … We have not been building enough homes, we have not been creating the new housing that matches the new formation of households.”

Gove added: “The biggest issue overall is that whether it’s in the private rental sector, the socially rented sector, or homes to buy, we still need to increase the supply of homes.”

Gove also expressed ”regret” over the rise in children living in temporary accomodation as the latest official temporary accommodation figures were published.

At 71,280, the number of households with children in temporary accommodation in the final quarter of 2023 was 15% up on the same period the previous year. 

The figures, which were published at the end of April, also found that 44,760 households were homeless and owed a relief duty within the last three months of 2023.

The statistics recorded a 16% increase in homelessness cases in this period compared to its 2022 equivalent, in which 38,650 households were owed a relief duty. 

Gove also said that in an ideal economy the price of a home should by three times the average earnings, regardless of the location. 

“Nationally its eight times. In London and Cambridge its 12 to 14 times. Thats not good enough,” Gove said. 

Gove also acknowledged that the government had not met its manifesto pledge of building 300,000 new homes per year. 

In 2022/23 there were 234,400 net additional dwellings, according to official figures published in November last year.