New housing minister hailed as ‘good choice’ for industry
Industry figures have outlined their hopes that new housing minister Lee Rowley will have staying power, following confirmation that he will become the 13th housing minister in 12 years.
On Tuesday night (20 September), shortly before news leaked of plans to cut stamp duty, the former construction minister said on social media that he would be joining the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as housing and planning minister.
He described the role as “a big job ahead to further help raise standards and service across the sector, to improve how planning works for local communities and, vitally, to empower more people to achieve their dream of homeownership”.
Industry figures have outlined their hopes that new housing minister Lee Rowley will have staying power, following confirmation that he will become the 13th housing minister in 12 years.
On Tuesday night (20 September), shortly before news leaked of plans to cut stamp duty, the former construction minister said on social media that he would be joining the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as housing and planning minister.
He described the role as “a big job ahead to further help raise standards and service across the sector, to improve how planning works for local communities and, vitally, to empower more people to achieve their dream of homeownership”.
The MP for North East Derbyshire had already been named a parliamentary undersecretary of state in DLUHC on 7 September, but it has not officially been confirmed that he would be taking the housing and planning role.
Ian Fletcher, head of policy at the British Property Federation, told EG that Rowley is “a good choice, as he knows the industry from covering construction”.
Rowley served as a minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and before that as a government whip. Prior to becoming an MP in 2017 he was a Westminster City Councillor for eight years, and worked for Co-op Insurance as its head of change.
Fletcher said he hoped Rowley would be in the post for longer than some of his predecessors. The last housing minister, Marcus Jones, was in the post for just 62 days. His predecessor Stuart Andrew lasted 148 days.
Rowley was one of a small group of junior ministers who ran former levelling up minister Kemi Badenoch’s campaign to become leader. He later switched his loyalty to Liz Truss when Badenoch was knocked out of the race.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the BPF, said: “The prime minister has put the focus firmly on delivery. Over the past 10 years, the property sector has delivered a pipeline of nearly a quarter of a million quality build-to-rent homes – well-managed, new purpose-built homes for private rent.
“Institutional investment has also been increasingly supporting affordable housing partners, and with the right conditions there is scope to do far more. The sector also delivers purpose-built student accommodation, which needs to expand to guarantee all first-year students a room and support a vital sector critical to the high growth economy the government wants to create.
“We look forward to working with Lee Rowley to ensure that planning reform, rental reform, and cost-of-living interventions unlock further essential investment to deliver good quality homes for people at all stages of life.”
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