Charities hail ‘biggest cash injection in affordable housing in half a century'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Government will invest £39 billion over the next decade.
Delivering her spending review statement in the Commons on Wednesday, she said social housing had been 'neglected for too many decades' and that she wanted to ensure people had the 'security of a proper home'.
She said: 'A plan to match the scale of the housing crisis must include social housing – neglected for too many decades, but not by this Labour Government.'
Ms Reeves said the Government, led by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – who is also Housing Secretary – is now 'taking action'.
Ms Reeves added: 'I am proud to announce the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in 50 years – a new Affordable Homes Programme in which I am investing £39 billion over the next decade.
'Direct Government funding to support housebuilding especially for social rent and I am pleased to report that towns and cities including Blackpool, Preston, Sheffield and Swindon already have plans to bring forward bids to build those homes in their communities.'
The Treasury said the programme will be delivered over 10 years from 2026‑27 to 2035‑36 and spending will reach £4 billion per year in 2029-30, subsequently rising in line with inflation.
Housing charity Shelter has described the funding as 'a watershed moment in tackling the housing emergency' and a 'huge opportunity to reverse decades of neglect and start a bold new chapter for housing in this country'.
The charity called for a clear target for delivering social rent homes.
Social rent homes are known as social housing, where rents are linked to local incomes, and can cater for people living in temporary accommodation, meaning they are officially classed as homeless.
Affordable housing is wider, covering things such as affordable rent and shared ownership.
Shelter estimated, using guidance on previous announcements on investment in affordable housing, that if 60% of funding goes towards social rent homes this could mean around 26,000 of these are delivered each year after five years.
A charity spokeswoman added: 'If this is coupled with measures to get developers building their fair share, we're confident the Government could ramp up to between 30,000-40,000 social rent homes per year – this is close to the levels of the last Labour government (40,000 per year).
'While this isn't enough to end homelessness for good, it's much higher than the current rate of delivery, which is around 10,000 social rent homes per year.
'We need 90,000 social rent homes a year for 10 years to clear social housing waiting lists and end the housing emergency.'
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, described the funding as a 'transformational package' for social housing which will 'deliver the right conditions for a decade of renewal and growth'.
She said: 'This is the most ambitious affordable homes programme in decades and alongside long-term certainty on rents, will kickstart a generational boost in the delivery of new social homes.
'Housing associations look forward to working in partnership with the government and with a Deputy Prime Minister who has tirelessly championed social housing.'
Riverside, which describes itself as one of the largest and most experienced housing association groups in the country, said this was a 'historic and ground-breaking funding settlement for social landlords'.
Its chief executive, Paul Dolan, said: 'The Affordable Homes Programme marks a major step in boosting the amount of social housing which is crucial if we are to cut the record number of homeless families living in temporary accommodation.
'We hope to see dedicated funding for urban regeneration play a significant part of the AHP.
'As an organisation, we have seen first-hand the difference regeneration makes in improving the quality of homes, neighbourhoods and the health and economic prospects of residents.
'With one in every six children living in an overcrowded home, dedicated regeneration funding can transform communities up and down the country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
28 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Streeting confident about welfare vote amid criticism of ‘two-tier' Pip plans
Wes Streeting said the changes 'have put us in a much better position' and give 'peace of mind' to those currently in receipt of personal independence payments. The Government's original welfare package had restricted eligibility for Pip, but in a climbdown to stave off a backbench rebellion, the changes will now only apply to new applicants. Mr Streeting said this was not unusual for such a transition. 'When things change and evolve as you bring in new systems, it does change sometimes from group to group, student finance being an example,' he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme. He said 'we've got to listen' when asked if further concessions could be made on Pip. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has called for the Government to start from scratch on the Bill and said the latest plans were 'divisive and sinister'. 'Creating a two-tier system where younger disabled people and those who become disabled in the future will be disadvantaged and denied access to work and education, is morally wrong,' she said. Disabled Labour MP Olivia Blake said the proposed changes had been 'plucked from the air'. 'This could form an unethical two-tier system that treats two people with the exact same injury or illness differently,' she told The Guardian. The Health Secretary told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the changes 'have put us in a much better position'. 'As a result of the changes, it means anyone watching this morning who's in receipt of personal independence payments now has the peace of mind of knowing that their situation is protected,' he said. Labour MP Louise Haigh meanwhile said she planned to back the Welfare Bill next week but needed to see the full detail of the new plans on Monday. The former Cabinet minister also said it was a moment for the Government to 'reset'. 'I think this is a moment and an opportunity to reset the Government's relationship with the British public and to move forward, to adopt a different approach to our economic policy and our political strategy,' she told the BBC. On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. The original plans restricted eligibility for Pip and cut the health-related element of universal credit Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition. Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only, while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. The concessions on Pip alone protect some 370,000 people currently receiving the allowance who were to lose out after reassessment. Ministers had hoped the reforms would get more people back into work and save up to £5 billion a year, but the concessions left Chancellor Rachel Reeves needing to find money elsewhere and point to possible tax rises in the autumn.
The National
32 minutes ago
- The National
Scottish Labour MP not 'proud' of Keir Starmer's first year in charge
Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, told the BBC Sunday Show that his 'gut reaction' was there were enough backbench rebels to force Number 10 into changing its decision on welfare reforms. Last week, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to MPs wrote to MPs setting out the UK Government's 'concessions' after more than 120 rebels signed an amendment that would essentially kill the welfare bill. Those who currently receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP), or the health element of Universal Credit (UC), will continue to do so. READ MORE: Inside the SNP's political strategy ahead of 2026 Scottish election However, planned cuts will still hit future claimants from November next year. It means anyone who does not score four or more points in one of the activities assessed for the PIP daily living component will not receive it if they apply after November 2026. Labour ministers seemed confident they had staved off a rebellion, with a vote due on the legislation in the Commons on Tuesday. The SNP have urged the rebels to 'stand firm' and refuse to back down to the concessions ahead of the vote. Meanwhile, Leishman told the BBC: 'I think it's fair to say that some have been placated by the compromises and concessions, as they're called, but there is still a healthy amount of us, a big cohort of MPs who feel that this should be withdrawn.' (Image: BBC) Asked if he thinks the welfare reforms will pass, the MP said: 'I'd say that behind the scenes, there's conversations being had all the time…some sort of prediction from me, but my gut reaction would be that there is enough of us to make the Government think again.' Leishman was pressed on if he thought the UK Government's position on changing disability benefits was right or wrong, or if the system should stay the way it is. 'No, it does need to change,' Leishman said. 'These proposals, this is not the change that we need. 'What we have seen over the last decade and a half has been chronic austerity that has really impoverished some of the most vulnerable people in the country, it's been politics and policy by design to make people poorer. READ MORE: Police 'examining' Kneecap and Bob Vylan Glastonbury performances 'The notion that we solve these austere cuts with more cuts, that's frankly ridiculous.' Asked if he was proud of Labour's first year in office, Leishman said simply: 'No.' When pressed on why, he said: 'Because I don't think we have tackled…let me just say, let me embellish that, we have done things in our first year that only a Labour Government will ever do. The Employment Rights Bill, a phenomenal piece of legislation, generational improvement for workers, absolutely fantastic.' He said that over 400 of his constituents had benefited from the restoration of miners workers pension scheme, adding: 'Those are two policies only a Labour Government will ever do, have we done enough of those types of things? 'For me, no, that's my job to make sure we do them more often.' It was then put to Leishman that he thought the Government had got more things wrong than right. 'I think that's only fair to say. I'm going to be open and honest with you, I'm not from a political background,' he said. 'We've got to do better, of that there's no doubt.' Leishman also revealed he had never had a conversation with Starmer, bar exchanges at FMQs, having only met him three times at Downing Street. Asked if the PM listens enough to his party, Leishman said: 'No, I think that's quite clear.'
Glasgow Times
42 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Government's new health strategy ‘no more than hiding the crisps', Tories say
Under new proposals, retailers could be made to set targets to increase their sales of less fattening products. Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said setting mandatory targets for supermarkets was 'nanny state'. 'They had 14 years in opposition to think about what they wanted to do about the NHS, they've had a year in government, and the number one thing in it seems to be hide the crisps,' she told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. Mr Streeting said the Government wants to 'nudge people in the right direction' (Lucy North/PA) 'It's obviously the nanny state, but it's also not what people want for the NHS. 'People want to hear how they're going to get to see their GP. 'Telling people what to buy, I think, is not up to government. I believe in personal responsibility.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the same programme the Government will work with supermarkets to help 'nudge people in the right direction'. 'By taking the approach we're taking with supermarkets, they will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, the reformulation, what products they choose to put on the shelves,' he said. 'They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction without any of us even noticing, in the same way that we've nudged the country in the other direction since the 1990s.' Rejecting suggestions that the idea was too controlling, he said it was different to 'traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price, on marketing, on what's sold'. Labour's 10-year health plan is set to be published next week. Other changes could include money for hospitals being linked to patient ratings. According to the Times, part of the proposals will see patients contacted a few weeks after their hospital treatment for feedback. Based on their responses, money could be diverted to a local 'improvement fund'. Another proposal could see NHS users awarded points for upping their step count and eating healthily. Points can then be traded for vouchers, with discounts at supermarkets and coffee shops, according to The Sun. Hundreds of bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England are likely to be scrapped as part of the changes. Mr Streeting has said the current system is too complex and needs reform.
