Treat social housing as critical infrastructure to unlock billions, says Peabody boss | Social housing
By: Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor | Published: 2025-05-31 11:00:00 | Source: www.theguardian.com
The head of one of the UK’s biggest non-profit housing providers has called for social housing to be classed as “critical national infrastructure”, like roads and energy networks, allowing for billions of pounds in much needed extra investment.
In an interview with the Guardian, the chair of housing association Peabody, Ian McDermott, said it should be reclassified by the Treasury to allow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to commit extra funds without breaking her fiscal rules.
His intervention comes as 11 of the country’s major providers wrote in a letter to housing minister Matthew Pennycook ahead of next month’s spending review that the government had inherited “the worst housing situation in living memory”.
The housing secretary, Angela Rayner, is said to be fighting for a…
