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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2024 to Question 900289 on Affordable Housing, whether her Department has made changes to the (a) tenure, (b) stock profile and (c) proportion of homes available for (i) social rent and (ii) other affordable housing types for new homes planned under the 2021-26 Affordable Housing Programme.

Between 2013 and 2023, the number of Social Rent homes owned by registered providers of social housing fell by over 205,000. The Government’s aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather than falling. We have therefore asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding.

My department published an update on targets in the 2021-26 Programme on 30 July 2024. We have also proposed a number of changes to national planning policy that are designed to support the delivery of Social Rent homes. We will bring forward details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.