In a major speech in Manchester, shortly before he became the new prime minister, Andy Burnham detailed his “housing first” policy.
The new PM’s housing philosophy is mainly based on the Finnish policy, which favours building permanent housing for homeless people rather than funding temporary or transitional accommodation.
Burnham also developed his housing ideas during his time as Manchester mayor, in response to research by the Housing First Unit that revealed Greater Manchester’s ten councils were spending £75 million a year on temporary accommodation. This large expenditure could be reduced by providing more permanent housing.
The Greater Manchester Empty Homes and Leasing Programme was launched in late 2025 with empty housing officers responsible for making 400 empty homes fit for temporary or permanent accommodation.
Andy Burnham said in his speech:
“Everything starts with a good home.”
The housing minister, Steve Reed, is believed to be working on a scheme to create a housing developer owned by the state that will be able to borrow finance at lower interest rates compared with private developers.
The UK government has a target to build 1.5 million new homes in five years, at a rate of 300,000 a year. This will help address the housing shortage and provide first-time buyers with access to the housing market.
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