Today’s Budget includes positive steps forward but the government must do more on social housebuilding and Local Housing Allowance to support people at risk of homelessness.
We were pleased to see the Chancellor recommit to £39bn towards affordable housing in today’s Budget, following the announcement in the Spending Review earlier this year.
This funding marks a step-change moment, alongside today’s confirmation that 1.3 million new homes are expected to be built over the course of this Parliament, taking significant strides in tackling the housing crisis.
That being said, current estimates do not meet the widely recognised target of 90,000 social homes per year needed to make housing truly affordable and significantly reduce the risk of homelessness in the UK.
We were disappointed to see that the government has chosen not to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance rates and ensure this benefit covers at least the 30% of cheapest rents in a local area, helping to make private renting more affordable.
We look forward to the imminent publication of the government’s housing and homelessness strategies, which need to set out the long-term funding of homelessness services and supported housing.
We welcome the measure in today’s Budget for the Treasury to review value for money across homelessness services, so long as this results in sustainable, long-term funding for good-quality services and is done in meaningful partnership with providers like Emmaus.
Today’s Budget and OBR forecast includes positive steps forward on housing, but we must wait for the government’s housing and homelessness strategies before passing full judgement on its progress.