Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he will take to increase the (a) quantity and (b) quality of social housing.

Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. This will build upon the success of our £9 billion Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme, running to 2023, which will deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes.

Through the Levelling Up White Paper, the Government has committed that by 2030 renters will have a secure path to home ownership, with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas. The White Paper also announced the commitment to halve the number of non-decent rented homes in all tenures by 2030 with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas.

We are also driving forward reform of social housing quality through our Social Housing White Paper commitments, including a review of the Decent Homes Standard to ensure it is up-to-date and fit to deliver on the government's ambition to reduce levels of non-decency. Following the announcement of the housing quality mission in the Levelling Up White Paper, we will also look to ensure that this standard for the first time also applies to the Private Rented Sector. In addition, we are reviewing the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, the tool used to assess for hazards in all residential property.