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- £10.2 billion cash boost for affordable housing
£10.2 billion cash boost for affordable housing
| Published | 16 October 2007 |
|---|
Thousands of families across England will benefit from a £10.2 billion cash boost for affordable homes announced today by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper.
This will mean 50 per cent more new social houses - 45,000 homes in total - will be built in the year 2010-11 than are being built this year.
In all 110,000 more social homes will be built over the next 3 years.
Taken with the funding of around £1bn last week for HMR Pathfinders, and £2bn for the ALMO project, this totals more than £13bn for affordable housing in England.
The £10.2bn is the allocation of regional housing funding for 2008-11 from the total announced in last week's Comprehensive Spending Review. The money will improve existing social housing and regeneration projects in addition to boosting the supply of social and low-cost housing.
All regions will receive an increase of at least 15 per cent by 2010-11 compared to this year.
Regional Assemblies are now being asked to draw up their own recommendations about how the investment should be spent, with every region expected to deliver significant increases in new social housing.
Yvette Cooper said:
"Every region needs more affordable, decent homes - not just to own, but also to rent. Unless more homes are built, first-time buyers and young families will find it more and more difficult to get a foot on the housing ladder.
"We all need to work in partnership to deliver these houses. This increased investment means that housing associations and councils can start planning now for more affordable homes in their area."
Communities and Local Government have allocated the money between the nine English Regions by a needs-based formula, following consultation with the Regional Assemblies.
This formula is made up of indicators including the number of households in temporary accommodation, the number of overcrowded and shared households and; the condition of local authority and private sector housing stock.
In addition further support for affordable housing is provided through section 106 and other programmes. The government is also promoting further ways to fund more shared ownership homes through local housing companies and agreements on public sector land, as well as through the Housing Corporation's funds. And this year, for the first time, areas in the North are being encouraged to bid for additional homes and jobs in their areas, or to be the site of one of the ten new eco-towns announced by the Prime Minister.
Notes to editors:
1. The allocation to regions is as follows:
| £m over 3 years | % change to 07/08 to 10/11 | |
| North East | £283 | 25 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £559 | 32 |
| East Midlands | £437 | 18 |
| East of England | £790 | 45 |
| London | £3970 | 27 |
| South East | £1372 | 30 |
| South West | £789 | 50 |
| West Midlands | £679 | 41 |
| North West | £801 | 16 |
| Growth support fund | £600 | |
| England | £10.2bn | 38 |
2. The Regional Housing Pot brings together capital funding for three areas: provision of new supply of affordable housing - both social rented and intermediate(housing priced and rented above social rent but below market price or rents such as shared equity housing where more than one party has an interest in the property value and shared ownership) ;decent homes activity directed at local authority-owned housing; and initiatives to improve the condition of private sector housing in the most deprived areas alongside projects aimed at regeneration and the establishment of mixed communities.
3. In the two years 2006-08, the Regional Housing Pot totalled some £5.5bn.For the CSR07 period of 2008-11, funding for the Regional Housing Pot will total some £10.2bn.
4. The allocations for 2008/11 were informed by the advice of the Regional Assemblies Housing Boards and in London, the Mayor. The level of funding to be included within the Regional Housing Pot has been determined by the Comprehensive Spending review announced on 09/10/07. It is divided between the regions on the basis of a formula made up of indicators which reflect need to improve affordable housing, improve private sector housing and aid regeneration.
5. In 2006, following a recommendation in Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply (2004), the Regional Assemblies and in London the Mayor took over responsibility for these recommendations and production of the Regional Housing Strategy.
6. The Communities Plan (2003) introduced the Regional Housing Pot, which combined funding for the supply of new social housing (through the Housing Corporation), improvements to both local authority owned and private stock (through allocations to local authorities) and (from 2006/07) support for the provision and refurbishment of sites for Gypsies & Travellers.
7. In order to be decent a home should be warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities. A massive £20bn programme of refurbishment has made council homes 'decent' for more than a million families already - this means modern kitchens, bathrooms and proper heating. More than three quarters of a million homes have had new central heating installed.
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