Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of (a) social and (b) council housebuilding projects in Southampton which are delayed due to financial infeasibility.

The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

On 30 July we announced a number of changes in planning policy designed to support the delivery of affordable homes and also confirmed a range of new flexibilities for councils and housing associations, both within the Affordable Homes Programme and in relation to how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts.

At this week’s Budget, the Chancellor will set out details of an immediate one year cash injection of £500 million to top up the existing Affordable Homes Programme which will deliver up to 5,000 new social and affordable homes. This comes ahead of the multi-year Spending Review next spring, where the Government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.

The Chancellor will also confirm that councils will be able to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales. In addition, the Government will consult on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement to provide the sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new social housing.