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 has taken with Homes England to encourage SMEs to build affordable homes.

The government has set Homes England a strategic objective that funding for the Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-26 should support use of small and medium-sized enterprise contractors. When Homes England assess a bid to the programme for funding, they will look at how the proposed development meets this strategic objective. Homes England will also include this objective in any grant agreement for the programme.