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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help improve housing affordability for first-time buyers.

We have introduced a number of interventions that aim to increase the opportunities available to those wishing and able to get on the property ladder for the first time. These include First Homes, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, Shared Ownership and Right to Buy. We have also reduced stamp duty and raised the thresholds for First-Time Buyers’ Relief. We also run the Lifetime ISA scheme to help young first-time buyers save for their first home.

Moreover, our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. Since 2010, we have delivered over 696,100 new affordable homes, including over 482,000 affordable homes for rent, of which over 172,600 homes for social rent.