- Published
Ministers have announced where more than 70,000 social and affordable homes will be built in England over the next 10 years as part of an initial allocation of almost £10bn, in a bid to address the housing crisis.
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homes → publish → crisis
Funding has been granted to Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, North East England, and Liverpool.
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Funding → grant → Manchester
An additional £6bn was previously announced for London.
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6bn → announce → London
It is the first part of a wider plan to build 300,000 social and affordable homes across the nation, under the government's £39bn social housebuilding programme.
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It → build → programme
Earlier this year, before he became prime minister, Andy Burnham had called for the entire 10-year £39bn affordable housing budget for England to be spent on homes for social rent - which means the cost of the unit is about half that of market rents, and there are strict criteria for who can apply for it.
"I would actually devote all of it to social housing," Burnham told The Social Housing Podcast in May.
But of the new homes announced on Monday, 60% would be for social rent.
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% → become → rent
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook told BBC Breakfast he did not accept Burnham had failed to meet his previous commitment, saying the government had taken a "pragmatic approach" and wants to "get money out the door".
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government → tell → door
He said the next tranche of funding would be more focused on council houses - which are usually also classed as homes for social rent.
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which → say → rent
It is understood ministers decided against giving councils more of the funding announced in the first tranche because they did not believe councils would be in a position to build the required number of social homes.
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councils → understand → homes
Housing charities welcomed the news but said it was still not enough to meet demand, while the Conservatives said it was an "unfunded spending commitment".
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it → welcome → demand
Under Labour, homeless figures have continued to rise to record levels.
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figures → continue → levels
Data released earlier this month suggested 177,530 children were homeless in temporary accommodation.
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children → release → accommodation
Natasha, who has been living in a hotel in Milton Keynes for the last four months with her son Zayd, is one of those waiting for a permanent home.
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who → live → home
The 22-year-old spent the final months of her pregnancy and the first weeks of her son's life living in a hotel.
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old → spend → hotel
She told BBC's Your Voice she has no idea how long she will be expected to stay there but was told it would only be temporary.
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it → tell → idea
"I'm just scared when he gets older, when he starts crawling around, I can't even allow him to crawl in such a place like that because it's so dirty," she says.
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she → get → that
While pregnant, Natasha says her room became infested with ants, which she repeatedly reported before eventually being moved into another room.
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she → say → room
But her problems didn't end there.
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problems → end → ?
While Natasha has her own bathroom, she shares a kitchen with around 60 other residents.
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she → have → residents
She says the hotel is home to a mix of people, not just mothers and babies, and that she does not always feel safe using the shared space with Zayd.
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she → say → Zayd
Natasha describes living there as feeling "like a prison".
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Natasha → describe → prison
She says visitors are not allowed, meaning friends and family can not come to help her with her five-week-old boy.
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friends → say → boy
"I just want somewhere peaceful for him and calm.
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I → want → him
Somewhere nice where I can bring him up," she says.
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she → bring → him
London will see the largest share of funding, although no figure has been given for how many homes will be built in the capital.
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homes → see → capital
Ministers said Monday's allocation was the first stage of the 10-year programme and more than £16bn remains to be allocated outside London.
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16bn → say → London
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner suggested some of the new homes will be built by councils, saying she and the prime minister were "doing everything we can to get councils building once again".
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councils → suggest → everything
Burnham had previously promised "the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period", and the government said millions extra would be given to councils to support their housebuilding plans and help with expertise.
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millions → promise → expertise
But the announcement stops short of clarifying how the funding will be split between council homes and those provided by housing associations.
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funding → stop → associations
In the 1950s, councils were building almost 200,000 new council homes a year, but half of councils do not currently own or build their own homes.
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half → build → homes
In 2024 to 2025, around 65,000 new affordable homes were completed in England.
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homes → complete → England
Organisations such as the National Housing Federation and homeless charities have previously agreed that at least 90,000 social homes would need to be built each year to meet demand.
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homes → agree → demand
Social housing provides affordable homes at a low cost, managed by social landlords.
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housing → provide → landlords
It includes affordable rented properties as well as low-cost home ownership, such as shared ownership, and can be provided by local authorities and housing associations.
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It → include → authorities
Charlie Berry, policy manager at housing charity Shelter, said the announcement was "not near the level we need to truly tackle that backlog and end homelessness".
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we → say → homelessness
But she said it was a "significant improvement", and added she would "love" Rayner to commit to a target of how many socially rented homes will be built annually.
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homes → say → target
As well as the promise and funding to build more social homes, the Labour government pledged to build 1.5 million homes by 2029.
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government → build → 2029
Despite statements like "build, baby, build", coined by former housing secretary Steve Reed, so far Labour is not on track to meet that target.
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Labour → build → target
BBC Verify has been tracking the target using government statistics on the number of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) issued by each local authority.
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Verify → track → authority
Each newly created dwelling must have an EPC by law, making it the most timely indicator of new homes being built.
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it → create → homes
The latest EPC data suggests about 203,000 new homes were delivered in England in the 12 months ending June 2026.
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homes → suggest → months
…and 7 more, not listed.
