Tag: Affordable Homes Programme

Spending Review: Biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation

The Chancellor is today [WEDNESDAY 11 JUNE] expected to announce the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation. 

As part of the Spending Review Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm £39 billion for a new Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years.  This will turbocharge the Plan for Change commitment to get Britain building and deliver the 1.5 million homes this country needs. 

This investment will be significantly higher than what the previous government spent on affordable housing. The last five year 2021-26 programme was only £11.5bn, averaging £2.3bn per year. 

This means the government will be spending almost double this on affordable housing investment by the end of this Parliament (£4bn in 2029/30). 

This is the first time in living memory that the government has set out a programme that provides ten years of certainty. This provides the sector with the confidence to deliver for now and the future, making it easier for those on low incomes to access a safe, high-quality home. 

This comes on top of a ten-year social rent settlement that will set a rent policy for social housing from 2026 that enables providers to borrow and invest in new and existing homes, while also protecting social housing tenants. This ten year settlement will see rents rise at CPI+1% from 2026, alongside a consultation to follow shortly on how to implement social rent convergence.  

It also builds on ambitious reforms to the planning system that the Government has already announced, which were judged by the OBR to add £6.8bn to the economy and boost housebuilding to its highest level in 40 years by 2029/30. 

A government spokesperson said:  “The Government is investing in Britain’s renewal, so working people are better off.

“We’re turning the tide against the unacceptable housing crisis in this country with the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, delivering on our Plan for Change commitment to get Britain building.” 

RACHEL REEVES: “WE ARE INVESTING IN BRITAIN’S RENEWAL”

  • Chancellor vows to ‘invest in Britain’s renewal’ as she lays out the Government’s Spending Review.
  • Reeves to announce the Government’s plans to invest in Britain’s security, health and economy to make working people better off. 
  • Billions of pounds of new capital investment will boost British business and create British jobs to kickstart economic growth and drive up living standards in line with the Plan for Change, including the biggest ever local transport investment in England’s city regions outside of London and the South East.

The Chancellor will today publish the Government’s Spending Review to ‘invest in Britain’s renewal’ as she vows to make all parts of the country better off.

Rachel Reeves will announce plans for billions of pounds of investment in projects across the United Kingdom that will create jobs, prosperity, and put more money in people’s pockets.

The Chancellor will say detailed spending plans come after the Autumn Budget and Spring Statement fixed the foundations of our economy to deliver stability, outlining: “The choices in this Spending Review are possible only because of the stability I have introduced and the choices I took in the Autumn.”

The Chancellor will confirm the Government’s commitment to delivering for every part of Britain, by announcing reforms that will guarantee towns and cities outside London and the South East can benefit from new investment. This will include the biggest ever local transport infrastructure investment in England’s city regions, which will truly connect people to opportunities that improve their quality of life, a key objective of the Government’s Plan for Change.

Ms Reeves is also expected to spell out the Government’s plans to invest in the British people’s priorities of security, health and economy.

The Spending Review comes on the back of the Government’s announcements in recent days to invest £15.6 billion in local transport projects, £86 billion to boost science and technology, and create ten thousand jobs by building Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station – which will drive forward Britain’s status as a clean energy superpower, as outlined in the Plan for Change. 

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Chancellor is expected to say: “This Government is renewing Britain. But I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it. 

“This Government’s task – my task – and the purpose of this Spending Review – is to change that. To ensure that renewal is felt in people’s everyday lives, their jobs, their communities. 

“So that people can see a doctor when when they need one. Know that they are secure at work. And feel safe on their local high street.

“The priorities in this Spending Review are the priorities of working people. To invest in our country’s security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off. That is what this Spending Review will deliver.”

She will add: “I have made my choices. In place of chaos, I choose stability. In place of decline, I choose investment. In place of retreat, I choose national renewal. 

“These are my choices. These are this Government’s choices. These are the British people’s choices.”

Chancellor to ‘unlock housing’ in first Budget next week

  • Thousands of new affordable homes set to be delivered in England through £500 million boost to the Affordable Homes Programme – bringing total investment in housing supply to over £5 billion.
  • Council housing stock in England protected by reductions to Right to Buy discounts and a consultation on new long-term social housing rent settlement.
  • Councils also able to keep 100% of the receipts from sales to scale-up delivery of much needed social housing.
  • £128 million funding injection for other housing projects to transform Liverpool’s central docks, build more energy efficient homes and clean up rivers to unlock up to 28,000 new builds.

The Budget will deliver more affordable housing, ensure social housing is available for those who need it and turbocharge the delivery of 1.5 million homes as the Chancellor commits to rebuilding Britain.

A housing package announced today will deliver up to 5,000 new affordable social homes with £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme – bringing total investment in housing supply to over £5 billion – and supporting the delivery of 33,000 new homes through £128 million for housing projects across the country.   

Meanwhile, the stock of social housing will be increased through a new 5-year social housing rent settlement that will give the sector more long-term certainty on funding and allow them to invest in tens of thousands of new homes.

The existing stock will also be protected by reducing Right to Buy discounts so that thousands more council homes remain in the sector.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “We need to fix the housing crisis in this country. It’s created a generation locked out of the property market, torn apart communities and put the brakes on economic growth.

“We are rebuilding Britain by ramping up housebuilding and delivering the 1.5 million new homes we so badly need”.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “We have inherited a housing system which is broken, with not enough homes being built and even fewer that families can afford.

“This is a further significant step in our plan to get Britain building again, backing the sector, so they can help us deliver a social and affordable housing boom, supporting millions of people up and down the country into a safe, affordable and decent home they can be proud of.”

The £500 million to deliver thousands of new social and affordable homes is a top-up to the existing Affordable Homes Programme and comes ahead of the Government’s Housing Strategy due in the Spring.

The Government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This will lay the foundations for the manifesto commitment to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, and to support councils and housing associations to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.

It will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and home-ownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.

The Government will also consult on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement, which caps the rents social housing providers can charge their tenants, to provide the sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new social housing.

The intention would be for this to increase with Consumer Price Index inflation figures and an additional 1%. The consultation will also seek views on other potential options to give greater certainty, such as providing a 10-year settlement. 

These measures to increase affordable housing come alongside changes to the Right to Buy scheme, which will protect existing social housing stock to meet housing need and deliver a fairer and more sustainable scheme.

England’s existing social housing supply is depleted every year by the scheme while also disincentivising councils to build new social housing.

Discounts will be reduced alongside greater protections for newly-built social housing and councils will be able to keep 100% of the receipts generated by a Right to Buy sale. This will enable councils to scale-up delivery of much needed social housing whilst still enabling longstanding tenants to buy their own homes.

The £128 million will support the delivery of new housing projects – including up to 28,000 new builds currently blocked by river pollution – cleaning up our rivers in the process – 3,000 energy efficient homes across the country and 2,000 new homes in North Liverpool.

Meanwhile the £56 million investment at Liverpool Central Docks will also deliver office, retail, leisure and hotel facilities alongside the new homes. As well as demonstrating our brownfield-first approach, it will transform Liverpool’s former docklands into a thriving waterfront neighbourhood. 

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, says: “We strongly welcome the £500m top-up to the affordable homes programme. This vital injection of funding, which we’ve been urgently calling for, will support housing associations to continue to deliver much needed affordable homes in the immediate term and prevent a collapse in delivery.

“We share the government’s ambition to build 1.5million homes over this parliament and stand ready to deliver the social homes needed, which is why we welcome a consultation on a new rent settlement.  This will provide both transparency for residents and long term certainty and financial stability for social housing providers. We also support the government’s decision to review right to buy discounts.

“To achieve the affordable homes needed across the country, alongside this short term top-up, we look forward to a new long term housing strategy announced at the next spending review, including a significant boost in funding for social housing.”