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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Affordable housing set to benefit from £100 million following CMA probe, published on 9 July 2025, whether he has considered the potential merits of allocating the English portion of the £100 million to community-led housing.

As the Competition and Markets Authority set out in its final decision letter published on 30 October 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here), the government will disburse England’s proportion of the payment to the affordable homes programmes delivered by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.

On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.

While maximising supply is at the forefront of the SAHP, the programme is also designed to support greater diversity and supply of the different types of homes that can be delivered, as well as greater diversity in who delivers these homes.

We recognise that some types of social and affordable homes that are much needed can often cost more to deliver – such as some homes built by local councils, supported housing, community-led and rural homes. The new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed, and we are asking providers to come forward with ambitious bids that reflect this diversity.

The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential.