Affordable housebuilding at 22-year high

The latest figures show 66,640 new affordable homes were delivered in the last year – 55% higher than the previous year.

It meant the numbers of social and affordable rented homes increased by nearly two-thirds, and the number of affordable homes to buy rose by 41% over the same time period.

At the Spending Review last week, the government announced plans to double investment in housebuilding to £8 billion, to help towards its plan of delivering one million homes by 2020.

This includes delivering 135,000 new homes to buy through a new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership scheme, a new London Help to Buy, and plans to deliver 200,000 new Starter Homes, which will be available at a 20% discount to young first time buyers.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said:

"Today’s figures show how far we’ve come to get the country building, bringing the industry back from the brink to deliver the highest annual increase in affordable housebuilding for over 2 decades.

"But we are far from complacent and the doubling of government investment in housebuilding announced at the recent Spending Review reaffirms our commitment to deliver a million new homes by 2020.

"Affordable homes to rent and buy are a key part of that, helping to give young people and families across the country the best possible start in life."

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis added:

"Our housebuilding efforts are paying off and can be seen by this considerable increase in the number of affordable homes built in just one year.

"This is real progress but there is more to do. That’s why we are going further and increasing our investment in these homes to ensure many more hard-working people can benefit."