The Chancellor announced that the Communities and Local Government budget will rise by 2.9% a year in real terms over the Comprehensive Spending Review 07 period. This will take the Department's total budget from £10.3 billion in 2007-08 to £12.1billion in 2010-11.
The Government announced its intention to deliver 3 million new homes by 2020 - with the number of new homes being built rising to at least 240,000 per annum by 2016. Towards this ambition, this settlement delivers:
This settlement also delivers:
Some 50% more new social houses - 45,000 homes in total - will be built in the year 2010-11 than are being built this year. This is the allocation of regional housing funding for 2008-11 from the total announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review (above).
The money will improve existing social housing and regeneration projects in addition to boosting the supply of social and low-cost housing. In all 110,000 more social homes will be built over the next 3 years.
Taken with the £1 billion funding just announced for HMR Pathfinders, and £2 billion for the ALMO project, this totals more than £13 billion for affordable housing in England.
All regions will receive an increase of at least 15% 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.
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.
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.