News story

Budget 2012

An additional £420m to stimulate local economic growth was announced by the Chancellor in his Budget. There will be additional funds for: …

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

An additional £420m to stimulate local economic growth was announced by the Chancellor in his Budget. There will be additional funds for:

  • Getting Britain Building - Confirmed an additional investment of £150m to unlock ‘shovel ready’ housing sites with planning permission creating up to 16,000 new homes and over 30,000 jobs. Last week Grant Shapps announced the projects shortlisted for this extra funding.
  • Growing Places Fund - An additional £270m will be given to local enterprise partnerships to deliver the key infrastructure needed to promote economic growth, create jobs and build new houses. This is on top of £500m already allocated.

Other measures include:

  • Right To Buy - A reinvigorated scheme so two million council tenants have the opportunity to get on the property ladder with a new national discount cap of £75,000 from April. Local authorities will be allowed to retain a proportion of the receipt to cover debt on the homes sold.  Additional homes sold will be replaced on a one-for-one basis with new affordable homes to rent.
  • Tax Increment Financing - Up to £150m will be available from 2013/14 for large scale infrastructure projects in core cities. Financed through Tax Increment Financing Type 2 schemes that let local authorities borrow against future growth in business rates for 25 years.
  • City Deals - A Manchester city deal will focus on an innovative ‘Earnback’ scheme. Deals with the remaining core cities of Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham and the wider Liverpool economic area will be announced in due course.
  • Housing Revenue Account reform - Confirmed plans to implement a devolved system for financing council housing from April. This will give all 168 council landlords a long term, stable source of funding to meet the needs of their tenants and local area. It will mean on average 15 per cent more money to spend on council housing.
  • Real Estate Investment Trusts - A consultation will look at the role these property investment vehicles could play in supporting the social housing sector. The Government is keen to see increased private investment in affordable housing, to help deliver much needed new supply, whilst ensuring protection for existing social housing tenants and the taxpayer.
  • Land Auctions - The Government is taking forward land auction pilot on public sector land with the aim of having two sites ready for market by the end of the year.
Published 22 March 2012