Meeting of the Parliament 18 November 2015
I want to make progress—I want members to hear about our ambitious housing programme.
That is a 67 per cent planned increase in affordable housing supply and, within that, we plan to maintain our existing commitment to social housing with 70 per cent of the new target being for social rent.
Our undertaking is bold, credible and backed up with the provision of more than £3 billion of funds. It would not only deliver more affordable homes but support, on average, about 20,000 jobs a year and generate more than £10 billion-worth of activity during the next session of Parliament.
Housing is fundamental to tackling inequalities and this Government is determined to ensure that we deliver the high-quality, affordable homes that people and communities need. In the past seven years, we have maintained our support for social rented provision by registered social landlords, with more than 25,000 RSL new-build affordable completions delivered.
We will continue to work jointly with the sector to maintain its strong contribution to meeting our ambitious new target. By continuing to work with our local authority partners, we will build on our commitment to council house building. We have protected the investment in our housing stock by legislating to end right to buy. That will prevent the loss of up to 15,500 homes over a 10-year period, helping to safeguard the supply of social rented homes for generations to come. That is an important policy point for this Government, because we want to protect our social housing stock for the future.
Housing options and choices are critical. We fund a range of housing to offer that choice—for both those who want to rent and those who want to own their own home. Just recently, we announced a £10 million increase in budget for the open market shared equity scheme, bringing our funding for the scheme this year to £80 million. We also make sure that the scheme gives priority to social renters, disabled people, members of the armed forces and veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years.
Other routes to home ownership have been provided through our funding for the help-to-buy scheme. We want to create the right conditions for the private sector to thrive, and that scheme has supported it.