Government's 70,000 social homes plan criticised as insufficient
The government has announced plans to build 70,000 social and affordable homes in England over the next decade, but charities and opposition parties say it falls short of what is needed.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The government has announced plans to build more than 70,000 social and affordable homes in England over the next decade, as part of a wider £39 billion programme to deliver 300,000 such homes across the country. The announcement, made by ministers on Tuesday, sets out how the first £10 billion of that funding will be allocated, with £6 billion going to London and just under £10 billion split between other English regions. Around 60% of the new homes are expected to be for social rent, which is significantly cheaper and for tenants who meet strict criteria.
The plans come amid record numbers of children living in temporary accommodation. The BBC spoke to a mother whose five-week-old baby has spent his entire life in a hotel room, with an ant infestation and no visitors allowed. There are currently more than 1.3 million households on council waiting lists. Housing charities have welcomed the increase in funding but say it is not enough. They argue that 90,000 social homes need to be built every year to truly tackle the backlog and end homelessness.
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, had previously said the entire £39 billion pot should be spent on homes for social rent. Today's announcement falls short of that, with only 60% of the funding going to social rent. The Conservatives have called the pledge unfunded and pointed to the small print showing homes won't have to be delivered until 2039. The Liberal Democrats said the government needs to fix the funding crisis in local government for the plans to succeed.
Separately, Reform UK has outlined its own plans to prioritise British-born workers for social housing, pledging to build 500,000 affordable homes over a decade. The party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, said the current allocation system is unfair, with overseas nationals ahead of British veterans on waiting lists. He proposed a new right-to-buy scheme and a sovereign wealth fund to part-fund the building programme. Critics have called the policy xenophobic, but Reform insists it is about looking after British citizens first.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC | BBC News | BBC One | GB News | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angela Rayner announced a plan to build 70,000 homes, with 60% of them as social housing. | · | · | |||
| The government announced a £39 billion scheme to build 300,000 homes, including more than 70,000 social and affordable homes in England, with £6 billion for London and under £10 billion for other regions. | · | · | |||
| Housing charities said 90,000 social homes need to be built every year to meet demand. | · | · | · | ||
| £6 billion is allocated to London, with under £10 billion split among other English regions. | · | · | · | · | |
| A GB News presenter argued that without changing allocation rules, most of the 70,000 new homes will go to foreign nationals. | · | · | · | · | |
| Data showed that 24 of 26 parliamentarians in areas with the highest foreign-born social housing allocation were Labour. | · | · | · | · | |
| Reform UK announced a social housing policy prioritising British families, British-born residents and veterans. | · | · | · | · | |
| Reform UK pledged to build 50,000 affordable social homes per year for a decade. | · | · | · | · | |
| Reform UK said the social housing allocation system assesses need rather than suitability, disadvantaging British veterans and young workers. | · | · | · | · | |
| The Conservatives said the plans are unfunded and that stopping foreign nationals from renting social homes would free up tens of thousands of houses. | · | · | · | · | |
| The housing plan will be delivered mainly by housing associations, not councils. | · | · | · | · | |
| The Prime Minister had previously promised a council house revolution. | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News focused heavily on Reform UK's rival housing plan, framing it as a solution to the crisis and contrasting it with the government's approach. The channel highlighted the issue of foreign nationals receiving social housing and argued that Labour's plan would not change allocation rules, meaning most new homes could go to non-British citizens. The tone was critical of the government and sympathetic to Reform's proposals.
- “British houses for British people. It's something that Margaret Thatcher took up and it seems to be your policy today.”
- “We want to build, a Reform government will build, an extra 50,000 affordable social homes every year for a decade.”
- “Angela Rayner has now revealed her plans to build 70,000 homes to tackle the crisis. 60% of them have to be social housing but of course if you don't change the rules then really the vast majority of that I think anyway is almost definitely gonna go to foreign nationals”
BBC News provided a straightforward factual report on the government's announcement, focusing on the funding details, the number of homes, and the political reaction. It highlighted the gap between the government's promise and the charity target of 90,000 homes a year, and noted the Prime Minister's apparent compromise on social rent. The tone was neutral and analytical, with input from the housing correspondent and political correspondent.
- “More than 70,000 social and affordable homes will be built in England over the next 10 years as part of the government's plan to address the housing crisis.”
- “What the government has announced is a significant improvement on what was the previous case, so this is a big increase in funding and we do need to recognise that. That being said, it's not near that level of 90,000 a year that we need to truly tackle that backlog and end homelessness.”
- “Andy Burnham had previously said the whole financial pot of money should be used for social housing. In today's announcement that hasn't happened. About 60% of this money will go on social homes.”
BBC One West carried a similar report to BBC News but with a regional perspective, noting that the Prime Minister had been accused of watering down his ambitions. It highlighted that most of the 70,000 homes would be built by housing associations rather than councils, with fewer than 3,000 built by councils, and included the Conservative claim about foreign nationals. The tone was factual but with a slight emphasis on the shortfall against the promised 'council house revolution'.
- “More than 70,000 social and affordable homes are to be built in England over the next 10 years”
- “Labour and the new Prime Minister had previously promised a council house Revolution, but most of the 70,000 homes announced today will actually be built by providers like housing Associations less than 3,000 homes will be built by councils”
- “The Conservatives have called the plans unfunded and say it's pledged to stop foreign nationals renting social homes would free up tens of thousands of houses for British families”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.