INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Chartered Institute of Housing is delighted to present the 32nd edition of the UK Housing Review. First published in 1993 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as the Housing Finance Review, CIH has taken the lead responsibility for producing it since 1999. Mark Stephens of the University of Glasgow is the lead editor, following on from Steve Wilcox who was the editor from the Review's inception. John Perry is the production editor.
This edition follows the familiar format. An Executive Summary is followed by chapters on four contemporary issues and by six chapters of commentary on the current year's statistics. The major part of the Review is the Compendium of Tables; the Index to the tables is at the end.
On the inside cover, the chart of English housing ministers records yet another change, with the reappointment of Lee Rowley in November 2023.
Contemporary Issues and Commentary Chapters
The Review opens with Contemporary Issues Chapters which analyse current topics in depth. The first chapter is a new analysis by Glen Bramley of housing needs in England and options for meeting those needs. In the second, David Robinson, Rhiannon Williams and Jenny Preece of the University of Sheffield examine ethnic inequalities in housing. The third is a chapter by John Perry on the different ways in which recent migrants relate to the housing system. And the fourth chapter, by Mark Stephens, takes a long view of the housing benefit system and poses questions about its future.
The six Commentary Chapters in Section 2 discuss key developments in policy, financial provision and outputs, drawing partly from the main Compendium of Tables. Of this year's series, Mark Stephens wrote Chapter 1, Matthew Scott (of CIH) and John Perry wrote Chapter 2 and Peter Williams wrote Chapter 3. John Perry wrote Chapter 4. Chapter 5 was written by Lynne McMordie of Heriot-Watt University. Chapter 6 was written jointly by Sam Lister of CIH and Mark Stephens.
The Review's Compendium of Tables
The Review's Section 3 again draws together a huge volume of data about public and private housing in the United Kingdom into an accessible format. Our data team, led by Gillian Young and assisted by Alan Lewis, have updated as many as possible of the tables although many official statistics are still subject to delays. Where possible, updates will be made to coincide with publication of the Review's Autumn Briefing Paper.
The Review's Compendium of Tables draws on a wide range of expenditure plans, departmental reports, statistical series and other sources, acknowledged against each table. Several tables are constructed from statistical sources and models not routinely published elsewhere.
Many tables provide data over a long time-series, at five-year intervals for earlier periods then with annual data for more recent years. Time periods vary, depending on data availability and the practicality of setting out data on a single page. Older versions of most tables can be found on the Review's website. Table numbering may have changed if they have been revised: this is indicated in the edition where the change took place.
Government departments are often restructured or change their names. The notes to each table indicate where older sources of data may be found when the current source has a different name.
As well as covering the four UK administrations, the Review contains many tables covering the regions of England, in some cases providing regional breakdowns in cases where official figures no longer provide them. Readers wanting more detailed data on the three Northern regions are recommended to refer to the Northern Housing Consortium's Northern Housing Monitor 2023.
Many recent Contemporary Issues Chapters have been collected in a separate publication from the Review team, a reader entitled Housing Policy in a Changing World, available free of charge from the CIH bookshop.
Acknowledgements
The Review's annual compilation of statistical data relies on substantial help and guidance from civil servants at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Department for Work and Pensions, the Treasury, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Office for National Statistics and elsewhere. Assistance is also provided by UK Finance, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, the Regulator of Social Housing and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The Review now also features comparative international statistics provided by Eurostat and the European Mortgage Federation.
The enormous help provided by these organisations in compiling the data for each year's Review is warmly acknowledged.
We are also particularly grateful for the collective help from this year's sponsors (listed on the cover), without whom the 32nd edition (and future editions) would not be published, especially since DLUHC can now only provide important 'support in kind'. It is particularly pleasing that among the sponsors are the Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
The University of Glasgow has formal editorial responsibility for the Review, led in this by Professor Mark Stephens. The Review is published by the Chartered Institute of Housing, led in this by John Perry. Jeremy Spencer is the graphic designer and is thanked for his patience and creative contribution to its design and production.
While every attempt has been made to check the figures included in the Review and the construction put upon them, the final responsibility for any errors, omissions or misjudgements is that of the authors. The views expressed in the Review are also the responsibility of the respective authors.
Finally, the editorial team welcomes any comments or suggestions on the format and contents of the Review (see contact details below).
March 2024
Professor Mark Stephens
Ian Mactaggart Chair in Land, Property and Urban Studies
School of Social & Political Sciences
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8RT
Email: mark.stephens@glasgow.ac.uk
John Perry FCIH
Chartered Institute of Housing
Suites 5-6, Rowan House
Westwood Way
Coventry CV4 8HS
Email: john.perry@cih.org
Dr Peter Williams FCIH
Departmental Fellow, Department of Land Economy
University of Cambridge
19 Silver Street
Cambridge CB3 9EP
Email: consultpwilliams@btinternet.com
Professor Gillian Young
Honorary Professor
Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research
Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh EH14 4AS
Email: young@newhavenresearch.co.uk
