Housing, Communities and Local Government

At the spending review in June, the Government announced £39 billion for a new social and affordable homes programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The SAHP will give registered providers of social housing—both private registered providers and councils—a decade of certainty over the capital funding they will have available to build new, more ambitious housing development projects. It is integral to delivering the Government’s commitment to the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation.

Today I am updating the House on the launch of the full details of the programme as part of the five-step plan we set out on 2 July to kick-start a decade of social and affordable housing renewal.

The core strategic objective of the new programme is to maximise supply—particularly of social rent homes. At least 60% of homes delivered through the SAHP will be for social rent. This reflects the priority this Government accord to social rented housing as the mark of a country that takes seriously its duty to house those for whom the market cannot cater; a platform for families to live, grow, and to build a better life; and as a public good that benefits the nation as a whole. Our ambition is to deliver around 300,000 affordable homes over the programme’s lifetime, with around 180,000 for social rent.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government policy statement on the social and affordable homes programme 2026-36 sets out the programme’s national architecture, which together with delivery partner prospectuses, details how RPs can access funding, the expectations placed on them, and the flexibilities built into the programme to support an ambitious and diverse pipeline of new affordable homes.

Oversight of programme delivery will remain with Homes England and—within London—the Greater London Authority. Up to 30% of the funding over the programme—up to £11.7 billion over 10 years—will be delivered by the GLA in London, with at least 70% available for the rest of England via Homes England.

As per the commitments we set out in the English devolution White Paper, we have worked closely with established mayoral strategic authorities to ensure they set the strategic direction of the programme in their areas. The priorities that each EMSA has identified to guide bids in their areas have been published as part of the Homes England prospectus, and RPs will be expected to demonstrate how they have incorporated these, including tenure preferences and priority sites, into their bids in EMSA areas. To support effective planning, we have also delivered on our commitment to set out up-front indicative spend per EMSA. These figures are intended to guide bids, but they are not a ringfence or a floor.

To increase the diversity of social and affordable housing supply, we have ensured that the programme has the necessary grant rate flexibility to support homes that require greater up-front investment, including council, supported, community-led and rural housing. As part of our commitment to reinvigorating council house building, we have also confirmed the following additional measures designed to support delivery of the SAHP by councils:

This Government are committed to greater devolution and determined to fix the foundations of local government and build a better future for local politics.

We want local and regional government in England to attract and retain the best possible talent, and for county, town and city halls across the country to promote fair and reasonable democratic discourse, without slipping into cultures which are toxic and intimidating.

In December 2024 the Government launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England.

This Government response, informed by the consultation and wider sector engagement, sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected Members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect.

This Government will carry out wholesale reform of the current standards regime, tackling head-on widespread concerns around the inconsistent use of rules on behaviour and the lack of effective sanctions for those who breach their codes of conduct, undermining people’s confidence in local government.

The reforms aim to ensure misconduct is dealt with swiftly and fairly across the country in every type and tier of local government—from the smallest town or parish council to the largest regional mayoral authority. We want to ensure that local government is empowered, fully accountable and deserving of people’s trust.

Councillors and mayors who repeatedly break the rules or commit serious misconduct will face tougher sanctions under proposals published today to clean up local politics and restore public confidence.

In June 2025, my Department announced changes to the Building Safety Regulator. Today I am laying before the House draft regulations that will move the functions of the Building Safety Regulator out of the Health and Safety Executive and to an Executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This change will position the BSR for the coming years. It will strengthen lines of accountability and give a dedicated focus to BSR operations, and it is an important first step towards establishing a single construction regulator, the lead recommendation of the Grenfell Tower inquiry phase 2 report.

I am grateful to the HSE for the leadership and experience it has brought to the establishment and early operations of the BSR, and for its ongoing support as this change is made.

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