By Nick Atkin, chief executive, Yorkshire Housing

It’s long been widely accepted that we’re in the midst of a housing crisis. There’s an acute shortage of affordable homes across the country and, despite this, the number of housing starts is at a ten-year low.

The numbers make grim reading. Across the UK there are 1.3 million households on housing waiting lists, 309,000 people are classed as homeless and 145,000 children are living in temporary accommodation. And so far, the reforms and policy changes that successive governments have made over the years have had little impact in addressing this growing problem.

There’s reason to be positive. The new government have clearly placed housing toward the top of their to-do list. They recognise the scale of the challenge and have shown an appreciation of the significant role housing can play in growing the economy and creating jobs, as well as the obvious benefits of providing people with a safe and secure place to call home.

Like many other across the housing sector, I’m chuffed (a Yorkshire term for being really pleased!) at the government’s commitment to update the National Planning Policy Framework and to restore mandatory building targets for councils. Other welcome news is their desire to deliver “the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation”. It’s certainly a step in the right direction. However, it’s vital that the government work closely with housing associations to make this happen.

If we’re to stand any chance of delivering this, then we need a move away from short-term thinking and piecemeal housing policy changes that have only exacerbated the housing crisis. Instead, we need a long-term plan that provides housing associations with certainty on funding, so we have the confidence needed to build more homes. Key to this will be the reclassification of investment in housing as infrastructure expenditure – in the same way we do for major capital projects, like road and rail.

We’ve seen from the Homes England strategic partnerships the positive difference in mindset and approach that these longer-term settlements can bring. However, we also need to learn from these arrangements that any funding must also keep pace with rising costs.

We also need longer-term certainty and control of our lifeblood – rents. Only by doing so can we invest more in building new homes, as well as upgrading our existing ones. The move towards greater powers for the devolved regions makes sense as this enables funding to be targeted to address local housing need, as well as supporting clear plans to make existing homes more energy efficient and affordable to live in.

Overall, I’m encouraged by what I’m hearing. Housing has never been so high up the political agenda, and it deserves to stay there.

Our offer to the new government is clear. Housing associations stand ready to help tackle the housing crisis, but we need long-term commitments that provide the certainty we need to enable us to plan for the future and build the affordable homes people so desperately need.