Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £2.5 billion social housing loan fund for 2026 to 2030 will benefit housing providers in Medway; and what steps are being taken to address homelessness in Gillingham and Rainham.

To support the delivery of new social and affordable housing, the government will make available £2.5 billion in low interest loans to Private Registered Providers, with £1 billion available outside of London.

The loans will be made available via a competitive bidding process, following confirmation of initial grant allocations made through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

The government has set out its plans to address the root causes of homelessness, shift the system towards prevention, and tackle the worst forms of homelessness through the National Plan to End Homelessness, which can be found on gov.uk here.

This is backed by £3.6 billion funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29. Medway Council will receive £12 million through the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant.