Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the affordability of housing association homes in London.

The Mayor has responsibility for housing delivery in London. However, the Government recognises the acute housing problems faced in London. We are providing the Mayor with £4 billion of Affordable Homes Programme funding over the 5 years 2021-2026 to deliver the affordable homes that London desperately needs, working with housing associations and local authorities he now needs to build them.

The Government does not a prescribe a definition of affordability, but we recognise that the fundamental purpose of social housing is to provide affordable, safe and secure homes to those who cannot afford to rent or buy through the open market. This purpose is reflected in the definition of affordable housing in the National Planning Policy Framework and in our approach to setting maximum rent levels in social housing including in London. The Regulator of Social Housing publishes annual statistics on rents charged by private registered providers of social housing (such as housing associations) - this is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-statistical-releases.

For those who cannot afford their rent, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit is available to provide support with housing costs.