In her Spending Review, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves today revealed that the Government would be finding an extra £39bn of funding for an Affordable Housing Programme focusing on “social and affordable” homes over the next decade.
Reeves hailed this initiative, developed by Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing Angela Rayner, as the “biggest cash injection in social and affordable homes in 50 years.” The social housing sector has broadly welcomed the move, which considerably exceeded predictions of a £25bn uplift in investment.
Reeves also announced an “extra £10bn of investments” in housebuilding, “including from Homes England,” and a rent settlement for the social housing sector, doubling the duration to 10 years and fixing rents to one per cent above the CPI index.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, described the settlement as a “transformational package for social housing” that will “deliver the right conditions for a decade of renewal and growth.”
Bromford Flagship, one of England’s biggest housing association housebuilders, has praised the government’s Spending Review for providing the certainty housing associations need to plan, invest and deliver at scale.
Robert Nettleton, chief executive of Bromford Flaship, one of England’s biggest housing association housebuilders delivering 1,770 homes in 2024-5 said: “Rachel Reeves has listened to the sector and delivered the funding scale and certainty that will unlock development and enable housing associations to deliver at scale and pace.”
“The return to rent convergence alongside 10-year funding certainty means we can plan, borrow and invest with confidence to help deliver the Government’s 1.5 million homes target.”
