Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Delivering a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing, published on 2 July 2025, when he plans to set out an (a) timetable and (b) delivery plan for the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement setting out the full details of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme as part of our plan to kickstart a decade of social and affordable housing renewal.
The statement accompanies guidance to bidders from Homes England and the Greater London Authority. It can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 15 October 2025 to Question 78195 on Housing: Greater London, whether his Department has had discussions with the Greater London Authority on the potential merits of (a) reducing the affordable housing quota in London to help encourage more housebuilding and (b) removing regulatory requirements in planning that only apply to London.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Secretary of State on 23 October 2025 (HCWS991).
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 30 June 2025 to Question 61251 on Affordable Housing: Greater London, what level of affordable housing delivery in London he is targeting; and what progress his Department has made on this.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The GLA’s target range for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme in London is 17,800-19,000.
The GLA last published their affordable housing statistics in August 2025. From the beginning of the programme to June 2025, there have been 5,500 starts, and 997 completions.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many social houses have begun construction since 4 July 2024 in (a) England, (b) the East of England and (c) Bedfordshire.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data on new social and affordable housing supply, including starts, for the period between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 has been pre-announced for publication in November/December 2025 and can be found on gov.uk here. The pre-announcement will be updated with the release date soon, according to the code of practice for Statistics.
The subset of that data relating to the delivery in the aforementioned period by Homes England and the Greater London Authority is already available at England level in Live Table 1012, available on gov.uk here.
Data on affordable housing supply, including starts for the period between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 has been pre-announced for publication in November/December 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. This pre-announcement will be updated with the release date in due course and according to the code of practice for Statistics.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with Homes England on the (a) design and (b) delivery of the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department is working closely with both Homes England and the Greater London Authority to finalise the design of the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme. We will publish a full prospectus in Autumn 2025 and open for bids in the winter.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether a new (a) memorandum of understanding and (b) facility agreement is being agreed between her Department and its agencies with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in relation to the (i) Affordable Housing Programme and (ii) National Housing Bank.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As committed to in the English Devolution White Paper, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority will have the ability to set the strategic direction of the new £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme in their area. Memorandums of Understanding and commissioning letters will be agreed with the Greater London Authority and Homes England as the organisations delivering the programme for MHCLG.
As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 18 June (HCWS712), MHCLG and the National Housing Bank, when established, will work with Mayors and local leaders to develop integrated packages of financial support to deliver on the housing and regeneration priorities of local areas. MHCLG and Homes England are engaging with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to agree an approach that works best for the needs of each place. We will announce further details in the coming months.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much was spent on the Affordable Housing Programme (a) 2015-2018 and (b) (2016-2021) in each year of operation; and how much has (i) been spent and (b) is forecast to be spent for the Affordable Housing Programme 2021-26 in each year of its operation, including funding allocated to London and mayoral combined authorities.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government’s affordable homes programmes are delivered by the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London and by Homes England in the rest of England.
Homes England’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25, which can be found on gov.uk here, make clear that by the end of that financial year Homes England had invested £6.08 billion of its £8 billion budget for the 2021-26 programme and the full £4.9bn budget for the 2016-21 programme.
The GLA does not publish details of its capital spending for individual programmes.
The Affordable Housing Programme for 2015-2018 was extended to 2020 at the Autumn Statement 2014. However, the programme was interrupted at the 2015 Spending Review and the remaining programme budget was consolidated into the Affordable Homes Programme for 2016-2023. Delivery data for the 2015-18 programme is set out in the National Audit Office (NAO) Report: The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015. The report can be found on the NAO website here.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the objectives are of the new homes accelerator programme; and how success will be measured against those objectives.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The New Homes Accelerator (NHA) is a collaboration between the government, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, local authorities, developers, and other key stakeholders. It aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.
The NHA is helping to progress large development sites across the country by providing site-specific support and also addressing system-wide constraints. To date, NHA has announced 16 sites for site-specific support, amounting to c.48,600 homes. Through addressing system-wide constraints, the NHA has helped overcome blockages on sites with capacity for c.63,000 homes.
The NHA does not have a focus on particular geographical areas, although the programme will keep in mind wider government policy priorities when deciding on which sites will receive targeted support, such as the percentage of affordable housing a site is expected to deliver.
The NHA targets support on development sites in England that are over 500 homes, with a particular focus on sites over 1,500 homes that are a) already in the planning system b) can be delivered this parliament and c) are viable without requiring substantial additional government funding or infrastructure investment.
In FY25/26, the NHA is providing £2 million of funding to the Building Safety Regulator’s Fast Track Innovation Plan; £1 million of funding to statutory consultees to bolster resources and improve feedback to local authorities and industry where necessary; and £3.01 million of funding to local authorities for site-specific support. Future funding is subject to the outcome of business planning, following the Spending Review.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the new homes accelerator will prioritise (a) specific geographical areas and (b) types of housing need.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The New Homes Accelerator (NHA) is a collaboration between the government, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, local authorities, developers, and other key stakeholders. It aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.
The NHA is helping to progress large development sites across the country by providing site-specific support and also addressing system-wide constraints. To date, NHA has announced 16 sites for site-specific support, amounting to c.48,600 homes. Through addressing system-wide constraints, the NHA has helped overcome blockages on sites with capacity for c.63,000 homes.
The NHA does not have a focus on particular geographical areas, although the programme will keep in mind wider government policy priorities when deciding on which sites will receive targeted support, such as the percentage of affordable housing a site is expected to deliver.
The NHA targets support on development sites in England that are over 500 homes, with a particular focus on sites over 1,500 homes that are a) already in the planning system b) can be delivered this parliament and c) are viable without requiring substantial additional government funding or infrastructure investment.
In FY25/26, the NHA is providing £2 million of funding to the Building Safety Regulator’s Fast Track Innovation Plan; £1 million of funding to statutory consultees to bolster resources and improve feedback to local authorities and industry where necessary; and £3.01 million of funding to local authorities for site-specific support. Future funding is subject to the outcome of business planning, following the Spending Review.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding has been allocated to the new homes accelerator during the Spending Review period.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The New Homes Accelerator (NHA) is a collaboration between the government, Homes England, the Greater London Authority, local authorities, developers, and other key stakeholders. It aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be.
The NHA is helping to progress large development sites across the country by providing site-specific support and also addressing system-wide constraints. To date, NHA has announced 16 sites for site-specific support, amounting to c.48,600 homes. Through addressing system-wide constraints, the NHA has helped overcome blockages on sites with capacity for c.63,000 homes.
The NHA does not have a focus on particular geographical areas, although the programme will keep in mind wider government policy priorities when deciding on which sites will receive targeted support, such as the percentage of affordable housing a site is expected to deliver.
The NHA targets support on development sites in England that are over 500 homes, with a particular focus on sites over 1,500 homes that are a) already in the planning system b) can be delivered this parliament and c) are viable without requiring substantial additional government funding or infrastructure investment.
In FY25/26, the NHA is providing £2 million of funding to the Building Safety Regulator’s Fast Track Innovation Plan; £1 million of funding to statutory consultees to bolster resources and improve feedback to local authorities and industry where necessary; and £3.01 million of funding to local authorities for site-specific support. Future funding is subject to the outcome of business planning, following the Spending Review.