Government allocates £10bn for affordable homes, but most will be built by housing associations
The government has allocated £10bn to build 70,000 affordable homes across England, with 60% for social rent, but critics note few will be built by councils.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The government has announced the first wave of its £10 billion allocation for affordable homes across England, with funding going to councils and housing associations. The money is part of a wider £39 billion programme. In this first wave, more than 70,000 homes will be delivered over the next 10 years, with 60% of them for social rent. The rest will be for affordable rent or shared ownership.
The funding is being distributed to 33 "strategic partners", of which only three are councils. The rest are housing associations. The government says councils have lost the capacity to build homes in recent years, which is why it is relying on other providers. The £10 billion is being spent entirely outside London, which has already received a separate £6 billion. Some of the funding has been split between six regions, including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands, which will see 20,000 new homes.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been criticised for backtracking on a promise made during his by-election campaign, when he said all £39 billion should be spent on council homes. His allies argue the important thing is that families are taken off housing waiting lists. There are currently 1.3 million households waiting for social housing, and the 70,000 homes announced today will not come close to meeting that demand. The government is still committed to building 1.5 million homes by 2030, but the scale of the challenge remains huge.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||||
| Angela Rayner announced a plan to build 70,000 homes, with 60% of them as social housing. | · | |||
| There are more than 1.3 million households on council waiting lists. | · | |||
| Andy Burnham said no child should be raised in a hostel room. | · | · | · | |
| Only three of the 33 strategic partners are councils. | · | · | · | |
| The £10 billion housing funding will be spent entirely outside London. | · | · | · | |
| The government said councils have lost capacity to build homes. | · | · | · | |
| The housing plan will be delivered mainly by housing associations, not councils. | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This bulletin gives a brief, straightforward account of the funding announcement, focusing on the headline figures and a human interest quote from Andy Burnham. It does not include any political analysis or criticism, and moves on quickly to other stories.
- “Nearly £10 billion is being allocated to councils and housing associations to build affordable homes across England.”
- “Prime Minister Andy Burnham says no child should be raised in a hostel room.”
This report leads with the political controversy, highlighting accusations that Andy Burnham has backtracked on his by-election promise to spend all £39 billion on council homes. It includes detailed analysis from the economics editor, who questions the scale of the programme and notes that only three of the 33 strategic partners are councils.
- “The Prime Minister though has been criticised by some for backtracking on claims he made during his by-election campaign in Makerfield where he said that all £39 billion should be spent on building council homes.”
- “The scale of this doesn't even come close to matching the demand.”
- “But that doesn't mean to say that this is not a good or sensible policy.”
This report focuses on the breakdown of housing types and the surprise that so few homes will be built by councils. It also highlights the regional distribution of funding and includes reaction from the Mayor of the West Midlands, who defends the policy as meeting a real need.
- “I think, Tessa, people were expecting that proportion to be higher.”
- “And that's because the government says councils have essentially lost the capacity to do that in the last few years.”
- “So a huge challenge there, even if they can get councils building again.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.