More social and affordable homes have been promised 

The UK government has pledged a £2 billion injection of investment to build up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes.

The announcement is another step towards the government’s promise to build 1.5 million new homes and drive economic growth by getting Britain building again.

It follows its plan to inspire the next generation of British engineers, brickies and chippies, by training 60,000 construction workers to tackle skills shortages and get more young people into jobs.

The £2 billion investment boost comes as a down payment from the Treasury ahead of more long-term investment in social and affordable housing planned later this year, which will provide additional funding for 2026 and 2027 as well as for future years.

Thousands of new affordable homes will start construction by March 2027 and will complete by the end of this Parliament.

The government is encouraging providers to come forward as soon as possible with projects and bids to ramp up the delivery of new housing supply, in turn making the dream of home ownership a reality for more people across the country.

The pledge has received a warm welcome from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

President, Muyiwa Oki, said: “With 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists, there is a desperate need to build more social housing. Therefore, this funding is encouraging.

“However, there is still much more to be done to meet the scale of the housing need and make up for the decades long decline in the provision of social housing.

“Innovative new funding models, such as those outlined in our report, Foundations for the Future, provide one means to help deliver the homes we urgently need.

“But we must ensure there is a pipeline of talent to design these homes.

“The continued funding for Level Seven architecture apprenticeships is key to this, which is why it’s critically important the government keeps this in place to bolster the housing and infrastructure workforce of the future.

“We continue to work with the government in its aim to boost social and affordable housing delivery up and down the country.”