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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) the absence of social housing grants, and (2) the rise in interest rates on HM Treasury loans to local authorities, on the provision of new housing by local authorities.

We have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures, including social rent, which Local Authorities are eligible to apply for

The Government keeps all policy under review and alongside the increase of the Public Works Loan Board rates the Government has legislated to increase the lending limit from £85 billion to £95 billion, reflecting its commitment that local authorities continue to have access to the financing they need to support their capital plans. We have been engaging the local government sector, to understand the potential impact the interest rate rise could have on individual local authorities’ capital plans and strategies, especially with regard to housing and regeneration. As ever, we expect local authorities to have robust financial plans in place which take into account the risk of changing economic circumstances as part of taking a prudent approach to borrowing.