In her Spring Statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined that the government’s planning reforms will deliver an extra 170,000 homes by 2090-2030, boosting homes built by 30% that year after a 13-year house building low in 2025 to 2026.

Reeves explains that this brings the UK closer to the government’s target to build 1.5 million new homes this parliament, with the OBR confirming that the government is on track to build an extra 1.3m homes.

Further reforms, such as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the government’s long term housing strategy and the new Affordable Homes Programme are not reflected in the forecast and will all help to reach the 1.5m target.

In her statement, Reeves says: “Earlier this week, we provided an additional £2bn of investment in social and affordable homes next year, delivering up to 18,000 new homes and allowing local areas to bid for new development across our country, including sites in Thanet, in Sunderland and in Swindon, more security for families across our country.”

She adds: “To build these new homes, we need people with the right skills. Earlier this week, the Education Secretary announced more than £600m to train up 60,000 more construction workers.”

“All this is just the start. The Planning and Infrastructure bill passed its second reading on Monday, no thanks to the parties opposite this bill completes its passage, it will help deliver the homes and infrastructure our country badly needs.”

As a result of the planning reforms the UK’s economic watchdog also thinks the economy will be 0.2% larger by 2029-2030, worth around £6.8bn in today’s prices.

The OBR also concluded in its forecast that this could rise to over 0.4% in 2034-2035, which is said to be the biggest positive growth effect the OBR has forecast.

Reeves states the government is “taking the right decisions now to secure Britain’s future”.

“Today, I can confirm to the house that the OBR have upgraded their growth forecast next year and every single year thereafter, with GDP growth of 1.9% in 2026, 1.8% in 2027, 1.7% in 2028 and 1.8% in 2029.”

“By the end of the forecast, our economy is larger compared to the OBR forecast at the time of the budget.”

The boost to GDP is driven by higher productivity in the construction sector, a greater flow of ‘housing services’ and beyond the five-year forecast, greater housing availability increases labour mobility.

This features as part of the Plan for Change to get Britain building, which also includes the Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently going through parliament, which the OBR will take a judgement on in due course.

The government will also consult on policies to support a more streamlined and consistent planning system.

As part of delivering the Plan for Change milestone to deliver 1.5m homes by the end of this Parliament, the government will publish a Long Term Housing Strategy.

It has also committed to set out details of further new government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review this year, following on from the £2bn down-payment announced yesterday.

This is in addition to confirming the government’s plans to provide certainty for the transformative programme of building the new generation of new towns.