Government unlocks first wave of £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme as councils re-enter housebuilding

The UK government has announced the first wave of funding from its £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, setting out where 70,000 social and affordable homes will be built across England over the next decade (BBC News; Gov.uk).

The programme, confirmed at the June 2025 Spending Review and formally launched on 2 July 2025, provides grant funding to support the delivery of new social and affordable homes over a ten-year horizon running 2026 to 2036 (London.gov.uk; Gov.uk guidance). MHCLG's Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 describes it as a "once-in-a-generation" investment, with grant programmes totalling £1,146 million at 31 March 2026 (MHCLG Annual Report).

Under the plans announced on 24 August 2026, £10bn will be spent to help build 70,000 homes outside London, with about 60% designated for social rent (The Guardian). The Greater London Authority intends to offer at least £6 billion through its council housebuilding programme, with councils expected to deliver more than half of the homes (Gov.uk). Over £1 billion in SAHP funding has been devolved to Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities, according to the MHCLG annual report (MHCLG Annual Report). Homes England delivers the programme's funding across England outside London (Gov.uk guidance).

The announcement carries political weight beyond Whitehall. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham backtracked on his previous position that the housing fund should only be spent on building new homes, a shift that opens the door to a broader range of eligible activity within the programme (The Guardian).

The funding arrives against a backdrop of historically low social housing delivery. In 2024-25, just over 12,000 homes were built for social rent in England, the highest figure since 2013-14 but a fraction of what is needed (BBC News). The National Housing Federation and homeless charities have said at least 90,000 social homes would need to be built each year to meet demand. Charlie Berry, policy manager at Shelter, said the government's announcement was "not near the level we need to truly tackle that backlog and end homelessness" (BBC News).

The contrast with earlier eras is stark. In the 1950s, UK councils were building almost 200,000 new council homes a year. Half of councils do not currently own or build their own homes (BBC News).

The programme feeds into the Labour government's broader pledge to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, a target branded "build, baby, build" by former housing secretary Steve Reed. BBC Verify tracks progress using government statistics on Energy Performance Certificates issued by each local authority. The latest EPC data suggests about 203,000 new homes were delivered in England in the 12 months ending June 2026. To reach the 1.5 million target over five years, at least 300,000 new homes would need to be delivered annually (BBC News).

The opposition parties have framed the announcement on different axes. Conservative shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly described the government's announcement as "sleight of hand", saying homes won't have to be delivered until 2039 (BBC News). The Conservatives said they would end the provision of social housing for foreign nationals in England if they win the next election, estimating the policy would "free up" 228,144 homes for "British families" (BBC News). Reform announced plans to prioritise British-born workers under 35 when allocating social housing if it entered government (BBC News).

The broader context here is one of scale and tempo. The SAHP's 70,000 homes over ten years averages 7,000 annually across the programme's first wave, set against the 90,000-a-year figure cited by the National Housing Federation. The 1.5 million homes target requires 300,000 deliveries a year; the current trajectory, as measured by EPC data, is running at roughly two-thirds of that pace. The gap between the SAHP's contribution and aggregate demand tells its own story about the limits of a single funding instrument, however large, in closing a structural shortfall that has accumulated over decades.

For Westminster watchers, the devolution architecture is worth noting. The combined-authority allocations to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands represent a deliberate channelling of housing delivery through mayoral institutions rather than central Whitehall direction. Burnham's concession on the ring-fence for new-build-only spending suggests that fiscal flexibility, not just headline grant totals, will shape how many homes actually reach completion.

The political contest over social housing allocation, meanwhile, is moving from supply-side consensus to demand-side division. All three main opposition approaches accept the premise that social housing supply is inadequate. Where they diverge is on eligibility, with the Conservatives proposing to restrict access for foreign nationals and Reform targeting allocation by age and birthplace. The government's announcement keeps the focus on bricks and grant, but the parameters of the debate are shifting.