Andy Burnham names where 70,000 social homes will be built

Government unveils first phase of huge housing plan

The initial £6bn funding package will be shared between Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the North East and Liverpool, according to BBC News. Of the homes included in Monday’s announcement, 60% will be offered at social rent, which is generally around half the cost of renting at market rates. Access to those properties will also be subject to strict eligibility rules.

This is only the first part of the Government’s much larger plan to deliver 300,000 social and affordable homes across England. Burnham had previously argued, before entering No 10, that the full £39bn 10-year housing budget should be focused entirely on social-rent properties rather than being divided between different forms of affordable housing.

“No child should be raised in a hostel room and no family should wait 10 years for a front door of their own. I have said from my first day in this job that everything starts with a good home.”

– Prime Minister Andy Burnham

Homelessness crisis puts new housing promise under scrutiny

The announcement comes as pressure on housing continues to grow, with homelessness reaching record levels under Labour. Figures released earlier this month indicated that around 177,530 children were living in temporary accommodation, highlighting the scale of the housing problem the programme is intended to address.

Burnham has previously put his own money behind the issue, having given a portion of his salary to a homeless charity every year since 2017. Even so, the Government’s latest housing plans have faced criticism from some quarters.

While housing charities have broadly welcomed the commitment to build more homes, they have also stressed that the numbers announced will not be enough to keep up with demand.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have rejected the plans altogether, branding them an “unfunded spending commitment”, the same criticism they have previously directed at Burnham’s proposed death tax.