One chapter in the review links an affordability-based approach to housing to a dynamic sub-regional housing market model.

Rather than providing a single projection of required housing output to meet identified need, the study generates a set of five scenarios for future output and evaluates them against an array of outcome indicators.

It also addresses the likely net cost in terms of public subsidy of each scenario, which in current circumstances may prove to be the determining constraint on actual policy.

Glen concludes that increased provision of housing, particularly social rented housing, would generate a wide range of beneficial social outcomes, enumerated in the study’s detailed analysis.

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The beneficial outcomes of increased housing provision tend to increase in step with both the scale of the programme and its focus (geographical, and tenure-related) on areas and sectors of greatest need and market pressure.

While ‘levelling up’ is desirable, it is unlikely to completely overcome the very strong market demand in London and its surrounding region.

When compared with current very low supply, a move to a medium-high level of supply has a considerable impact on most outcomes.

The study considers various restraints on increasing supply including that the higher-end levels of new provision would require £10-12bn extra subsidy annually.

The conclusion is that it would be reasonable to plan based on achieving a total supply of at least 300,000 new homes annually, including 60-70,000 socially rented units.

The total should rise to around 350,000 per annum from 2030, of which 90,000 should be for social rent.