Local authorities doing it for themselves: austerity, the direct provision of housing and changing central-local relations in England

Figures & data

Table 1. Motivating factors for local authorities to engage directly in housing provision, in order of importance according to survey respondents.

Factor	2021 importance Rank	2019 importance Rank	2017 importance rank
Meeting housing requirements	1	1	1
Tackling homelessness	2	2	2
Improving quality of design	3	=3	8
Estate regeneration	4	=5	4
Income generation	5	=3	3
Because local authorities should be building housing	6	=5	9
Place regeneration (e.g., town centre)	7	=5	= 6
To deal with problem sites	8	9	10
Private sector build out rates too slow	9	8	5
To change public perceptions of place	10	10	11
Frustration at unimplemented planning permissions	11	11	= 6
To support small business	12	12	12

Figure 1. Regional distribution within each category in relation to directly delivering housing (as in 2018).

Figure 2. Political control of authorities in relation to direct delivery of housing (as in 2018).