Laura Sharman 25 November 2015

Spending Review: Osborne doubles housing budget

The country’s ‘biggest affordable house building programme since the 1970s’ has been unveiled in today’s spending review by the chancellor.

George Osborne said the Government was doubling the annual housing budget to £2bn a year, helping to deliver 400,000 affordable new homes by the end of the decade.

He also confirmed that Right to Buy was being extended to housing association tenants, with a new pilot involving five housing associations starting from midnight tonight.

Mr Osborne’s housing announcements also included funding for 135,000 help-to-buy shared ownership homes for households earning less than £80,000, or £90,000 in London.

He also outlined changes to the planning system to accelerate housing supply: ‘We are announcing further reforms to our planning system so it delivers more homes more quickly,' he said.

‘We’re releasing public land suitable for 160,000 homes and re-designating unused commercial land for Starter Homes.

‘We’ll extend loans for small builders, regenerate more run-down estates and invest over £300m in delivering at Ebbsfleet the first garden city in nearly a century.’

The chancellor said that new rates of stamp duty - which will be 3% higher for buy-to-lets and second homes - would be introduced from next April to fund new house building. The new levy is expected to raise nearly a billion pounds by 2021.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Chief Executive

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
up to £165,000
Ebbsfleet is one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects, a 21st-century Garden City Ebbsfleet, Kent
Recuriter: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Virtual School Inclusion Support Officer

Essex County Council
£32768.0000 - £38550.0000 per annum
Virtual School Inclusion Support OfficerPermanent, Term Time£32,768 to £38,550 per annum (full time equivalent)Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Senior Business Development Officer

Essex County Council
£36341.0000 - £42754.0000 per annum
Senior Business Development Officer - Integrated Passenger Transport UnitFixed Term, Full Time£36,341 to £42,754 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Adults Social Worker - Neighbourhood Team

Essex County Council
£37185 - £50081 per annum + Flexible Working, Hybrid Working
Interview dates
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Investment Marketing and Web Officer CDC

City Of Doncaster Council
Grade 8, £33,708 - £37,399
The postholder should be experienced in planning social media activity, refreshing web content and analysing their impact. Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recuriter: City Of Doncaster Council
Linkedin Banner