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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding the Government has allocated from the public purse to help increase the viability of new housing development on brownfield sites in areas with lower market values.

Bringing brownfield land back into use is a priority, which is why every local authority is now required to publish and maintain a register of brownfield land, containing up-to-date information on brownfield suitable for housing in the area.

While it is for local authorities to plan and bring forward suitable land, our funding programmes, delivered through Homes England, are also supporting brownfield land being brought forward. As at the end of March 2019, £909 million of the Home Building Fund Long Term Fund (74 per cent of total spend) had been spent on contracted schemes which will lead to 70,062 housing units (61 per cent of unlocked units) being developed on brownfield land. Other funds will also help to bring forward new housing on brownfield sites, such as our £450 million Accelerated Construction programme and our £5.5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund.

Whilst this funding is available to all areas of the country, all applications undergo an assessment of their value for money for the taxpayer.