In September 2020, the Future Homes Task Force was set up to develop a long-term Delivery Plan for the sector in line with the Government’s legally binding net zero and wider environmental targets. The Delivery Plan is divided into four areas with a goal and roadmap for each area. The Delivery plan also sets out the specification for the Hub.

The goals are:

• High-quality homes that are zero-carbon ready and sustainable.
• Places and developments that are consistently low-carbon, nature-rich, resilient, healthy and well-designed.
• Production and construction methods that are net zero and sustainable by 2050.
• Businesses that are recognised and rewarded for net zero and sustainability performance.

The Future Homes Hub has now been set up as a non-profit-making company limited by guarantee. We are an independent organisation bringing together the homebuilding sector with the wider circle of supply chain, infrastructure, finance and government organisations that need to collaborate. Over 40 of the largest homebuilders, along with many other related organisations, committed to working together through the Hub to achieve the goals upon publication of the Plan.

The business of the Future Homes Hub, as laid out in the governing document, is to “support the achievement of the aims and objectives set by the Future Homes Task Force in accordance with the Delivery Plan”.

In practice, this means several types of activity:

• Developing technical solutions for regulatory changes.
• Collaborating sector-wide to overcome barriers to successful implementation, for example in skills and supply chains.
• Developing industry-led proposals for current and future policy challenges.
• Creating the basis for measuring sustainability performance and capturing the value of improved performance.
• Communicating with all parts of the homebuilding sector, especially SMEs.
• Facilitating sharing and learning across the sector.

We do not deliver directly. Our modus operandi is to bring together the right people at the right time to provide the right answers to the right questions. Sometimes our work involves preparing the sector for known regulatory changes, and sometimes it involves helping to determine how future challenges can be overcome successfully. We partner with relevant organisations where appropriate to help create a joined-up landscape of support.

The immediate scope of the Hub’s work is currently England, although we are keen to work closely with the other UK nations. Colleagues in both Wales and Scotland have expressed an interest in collaborating with the Hub.

The longer-term Delivery Plan has been translated into a programme of work for the next three years, as set out in the business plan.