A select committee chair has written to the Chancellor warning of the impact of departmental budget cuts on the Government’s plans to deliver 1.5 million houses this Parliament.
Florence Eshalomi, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee, said she was ‘deeply concerned’ by reports that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) could face cuts as an ‘unprotected’ department.
She warned that a reduction in the MHCLG’s budget would undermine investment in social and affordable housing, which would in turn undermine the Government's aim of building 1.5 million homes.
Next week’s Spending Review is ‘make or break’ for the 1.5 million target, she added.
‘The Chancellor must match the stated ambitions of the Government in the Spending Review and bring forward a generational increase in affordable and social housing investment,’ Eshalomi said.
‘This is critical if the Government wants to meet its pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.’
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