GOVERNMENT PLEDGES £1BN FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES IN ENGLAND

The government says it will provide more than £1bn for social and affordable housing in England in Wednesday’s Budget. The Treasury says the addition will take funding for its 10-year housing programme beyond £40bn. Chancellor John Healey is also expected to announce new borrowing arrangements for councils and regional mayors to support housebuilding. Healey said local leaders would receive “more money, more power and more capacity to get projects moving, build homes and make the right decisions for their areas”.

The Treasury says it will allocate an initial £285m next year to help mayors and local leaders plan investments. It also plans to work with mayors on a £1.5bn borrowing facility from 2028. According to the Treasury, leaders could use that capital for housing, high streets or transport links. Councils would be able to borrow from the government for housebuilding at preferential interest rates. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the plans aimed to shift power to people “who know their communities best”.

The announcement comes as the government pursues a target of building 1.5 million homes. The National House Building Council said registrations for new homes fell by 13% to 26,231 in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 30,279 a year earlier. It said registrations in the affordable and rental sector fell by 23% to 7,872. NHBC chief strategy officer Daniel Pearce said demand remained fragile and the pipeline of new homes was shrinking. Angela Rayner described the government’s goal as a “stretch target” and said rising construction costs had added to the difficulty of meeting it.