A £10.2 billion cash boost for affordable housing in England has been announced today by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper.

This will mean 50% 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 three years.

Taken with the £1bn funding announced 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% by 2010-11 compared to this year.

The three-year allocation to the following regions are:

• North East £283m (+25%)
• Yorkshire and Humber £559m (+32%)
• East Midlands £437m (+18%)
• East of England £790m (+45%)
• London £3970m (+27%)
• South East £1372m (+30%)
• South West £789m (+50%)
• West Midlands £679m (+41%)
• North West £801m (+16%)
• Growth support fund £600m

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.

(GK/SP)