Stories

Sun, 25 Oct 2026

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 Budget to include £1bn for social and affordable housing

The move will take funding for the 10-year programme to more than £40bn.

* Chancellor John Healey's first Budget will be presented on Wednesday, which includes: + £1bn for social and affordable housing in England + Funding to take the government's 10-year homes programme past £40bn + Greater powers and funding for mayors and regional leaders across England + Preferential interest rates for councils to borrow money from the government to invest in housebuilding
* The Budget also includes: + More support for small breweries + Billions of pounds of new defence spending, although specific details will be outlined at next year's spending review
* Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith has called on Healey to resign if he fails to set out plans to spend 3% of the UK's GDP on defence by 2030
* Mayors and regional leaders across England are expected to get greater flexibility and authority over investment decisions, with an initial £285m in transitional seed funding allocated next year to support them
* The government will also confirm a new £1.5bn borrowing facility from 2028, which would allow mayors to access capital needed to support local priorities