Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to continue funding the work of rural housing enablers in facilitating affordable housing in rural areas.

DEFRA’s current Rural Housing Enabler programme began in 2023. It provides grant funding to ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) to deliver and manage a network of independent advisors who work with communities to develop affordable housing schemes across rural England. The advisors help identify suitable development opportunities in communities, and support site owners and community representatives to navigate the planning system and create developments that meet the needs of local people. This funding is set to continue until the end of the current spending review period. We have bid for continued funding next year, but no commitments or announcements can be made until the wider business planning process is finalised.