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Council staff shortages in danger of hindering Labour’s housebuilding plans, research shows
Workforce shortages at councils due to budget cuts are putting Labour’s housebuilding ambitions at risk, according to fresh research.
A survey carried out by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) found that planning departments have the worst shortages, with 84% experiencing recruitment and retention issues.
As a result, councils are concerned there will not be enough planners to “guide the housebuilding boom” pushed by the government and that a lack of expertise could “open the door to suboptimal developments”.
“Planning departments have been among the most impacted in recent years as shrinking budgets have forced councils to reduce spending, but if the government’s housebuilding revolution is to succeed, we need a step change in the recruitment and retention of planners,” Richard Wright, planning and growth spokesperson at the DCN, said.
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Jeremy Newmark, finance spokesperson at the DCN, added: “With degraded planning expertise, we risk building housing in isolated locations which are beset by social problems, and in which no one wants to live.
“As councils have had no option to make cuts, and as services become increasingly threadbare, the burden on their remaining staff grows and the danger is that careers here become less attractive.”
Four-fifths of the councils surveyed expect a budget shortfall in 2025-26, amounting to around 7% of revenue budgets. For 2026-27, this shortfall represents 11% of revenue budgets, the DCN said.
The survey also found that almost a third of councils had experienced staff shortages in teams working to prevent homelessness.
The DCN has called on the government to provide further financial support in the Budget.
Mr Newmark said: “Local services and national policy goals depend on properly functioning councils. But deepening shortages of finance officers and lawyers have the potential to paralyse councils, or even lead to their collapse.
“It’s in the Treasury’s interest to act now to ward off far worse problems later.”
Wage increases led to councils each budgeting an average of £881,000 more for 2024-25, with further rises planned in subsequent years.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Despite the inheritance we have been given, this government will fix the planning system and get Britain building again so we can deliver 1.5 million new homes during this parliament.
“We have already set out clear plans to do this, including by supporting councils with 300 additional planning officers across the country, and increasing planning fees so that local authorities are properly resourced.”
Last week, research by Savills, the National Housing Federation and the Home Builders Federation revealed that Labour was on track to miss its housebuilding target by up to 475,000 homes without extra grant funding for social housing.
A recruitment and skills survey by social enterprise Public Practice showed a similarly bleak picture last month, with 55% of planning and placemaking professionals reporting that their teams lack the capacity to meet strategic goals beyond minimum statutory responsibilities.
Inside Housing’s Housing Hires campaign is looking to redress the balance by promoting careers in social housing and sharing best practice around recruiting and retaining staff in the sector.
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