Housing secretary said to have secured downpayment for multi-year plan to double council house building rates
Angela Rayner will be handed almost 拢1bn in funding as part of a plan to double the amount of council homes built each year, according to reports.
The housing secretary is said to have agreed a substantial top-up for the Affordable Homes Programme from Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, ahead of next week鈥檚 Budget.
Reports in The Times, the Evening Standard, The Sun and the Daily Mail claim between 拢500m and 拢1bn will be released over the next 18 months with larger sums to follow in next spring鈥檚 spending review.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it does not comment on budget speculation, but Rayner has argued council housing will be vital to achieving Labour鈥檚 target to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
In July, she wrote to all local authority leaders and chief executives in England notifying them of the party鈥檚 plans to provide details of government investment in social and affordable housing at the spending review.
She said the announcements would be made in order to allow social housing providers to 鈥減lan for the future and help deliver the biggest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation鈥�.
The letter also confirmed funding of 拢450m for the third Local Authority Housing Fund to enable councils to acquire and build more than 2,000 homes for families at risk of homelessness.
Rayner鈥檚 council house building drive is reportedly linked to Labour鈥檚 restriction of right-to-buy rules, which aim to stem a net annual loss of more than 11,000 council homes due to tenants buying their homes.
The housing secretary is pledging to build enough homes to reverse this loss by April 2026 through a multi-year affordable housing settlement aiming to return building rates to the levels achieved under Gordon Brown, when more than 30,000 social homes were built each year.
The programme aims to avert a projected 拢9bn rise in benefit payments and address soaring costs for temporary homeless accommodation that are weighing on some councils.
The government currently spends 拢30 billion a year on housing benefits, up by 50% since 2010, with the cost forecast to reach 拢39 billion by the end of this decade.
Analysis by the Centre for Homelessness Impact has found record levels of homelessness are now costing taxpayers 拢1.9bn a year, with councils spending 拢474m each year on B&Bs for homeless people, three times the among spent tens years ago.
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