Labour Housing Chair Urges Faster Social Home Funding
Abena Oppong-Asare is urging Chancellor John Healey to accelerate the allocation of billions from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to reduce housing waiting lists.
Labour chair of the Commons housing committee Abena Oppong-Asare is urging Chancellor John Healey to accelerate the allocation of billions of pounds from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP). Oppong-Asare argues that funds should be released during the current parliament rather than after the next election to address critical social housing waiting lists.
The Ministry of Housing has already allocated nearly £10bn to build 70,000 council, social, and affordable homes across England, with an immediate £6bn allocation planned for London. However, the government intends to distribute a significant portion of the remaining £13bn during the second half of the scheme. This timeline has drawn criticism from the National Housing Federation, which reports that housing associations could build an additional 41,000 homes outside London over the next decade—including 25,000 for social rent—if the government provides an additional £5.3bn.
National Housing Federation chief executive Kate Henderson noted that many organizations with ready sites and proven track records failed to receive the funding necessary to deliver homes. These funding gaps persist as Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has previously acknowledged the difficulty of meeting the government target of 1.5 million new homes this parliament.
