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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of affordable homes that are built in the UK.

We have announced a range measures to support housing associations and local authorities to build more genuinely affordable homes across England.

We are lifting the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap so that local authorities can deliver a new generation of council housing and we have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including social rent homes where they are needed most.

The Prime Minister recently announced a £2 billion long term funding pilot, starting in 2022, committing this funding up to 2028-29. This ten year funding commitment marks the first time any government has offered housing associations such long-term funding certainty.

We have also confirmed long-term rent certainty for social landlords in England and in August we published our consultation on options for allowing local authorities more flexibility in the use of their Right to Buy receipts.

Affordable housing provision in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.