"Build baby build" – How MHCLG will change now Steve Reed is Secretary of State

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is one of Whitehall's largest departments and is responsible for delivering many of the government's highest profile initiatives, including overseeing the construction of 1.5m new homes before the end of this Parliament, how public services are delivered by local government and the administration of many of the country's largest grant funding programmes.

Angela Rayner was the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (as well as Deputy Prime Minister) between July 2024 until September 2025. During that time, she had a big impact. This included taking steps to overhaul the planning system, establishing the Council of Mayors, launching the £1.5bn Plan for Neighbourhoods Fund and leading upon the design of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (our article on this can be found here). On Friday 5th September she resigned over allegations about her tax arrangements. This triggered a cabinet reshuffle which saw Steve Reed move from his role as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to lead MHCLG.

Who is Steve Reed OBE?

Steve Reed has been MP for Streatham and Croydon North since 2012. Prior to this he was Leader of Lambeth Council for over six years, during which time he was also co-chair of the Vauxhall-Nine Elms-Battersea regeneration board. He therefore understands the issues that affect Local Government, but also the need for close partnership working in the delivery of large public funded projects.

In his maiden speech in Parliament Steve Reed emphasised the importance of "pioneering more co-operative ways of running public services" and the need for investment as a route to improving social cohesion.  

In general, Steve Reed is regarded to be an astute politician with a good track record when it comes to delivery. For example, during his time at Lambeth Council he turned around the performance of the children’s services department, taking them from amongst the worst in the country to the best-rated.

How will Steve Reed run MHCLG?

In his speech to Civil Servants at MHCLG Steve Reed is reported to have announced that his mantra during his time at MHCLG will be "build baby build" and that he will look to use every lever available to get Britain building. 

What that means in practice is that the focus within MHCLG will be firmly upon accelerating the delivery of capital projects. It can be inferred that the development of new policies will not be as prominent, therefore the Departmental priorities can be expected to remain very similar to how they are at the moment. However there will be the opportunity to soften some of the commitments made, provided that such changes can be shown to unlock the delivery of projects more quickly. For example there has been criticism of the strictness of the 40% affordable housing target included within the government's New Town initiative. That may well be softened.

The main focus will be upon accelerating the delivery of projects. This may well see the Secretary of State pushing for the creation of more Mayoral Development Corporations for key regeneration sites, including to unlock the construction of the Sage indoor arena and conference centre in Gateshead and the creation of housing around the new Manchester United Stadium in Trafford. It is also likely to see additional funds given to Mayoral Combined Authorities to prepare sites, such as another round of the Brownfield Housing Fund.

Of course there will be additional steps taken to remove the barriers that slow down projects. Changes in the planning system are already being made through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, but Reed may push for stronger sanctions where there are unnecessary delays.

Finally, Civil Servants will be told that there are specific housing targets for each remaining year of the Parliament. According to Andrew Neil between July 2024 and June 2025, only 187,000 new homes were built in England, a fall from the 221,000 achieved by the Conservative administration the year before. To meet Labour's 1.5m new homes target by August 2029, it will be necessary to deliver 325,000 new homes in each remaining year.

Conclusion

Steve Reed is being appointed as part of a reset of the Labour administration in which the delivery of projects that deliver economic growth is being prioritised. He is a good fit for this role, but it will undoubtedly be a difficult challenge. The role of Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government is often a short term appointment (there have been over fifteen Secretaries of State with this remit in twenty years) so he will be eager to demonstrate tangible success quickly and the Department will be set up to support on this. 

Alexander Rose and Tim Care are Partners at Ward Hadaway.