Response to the Spring Statement 2019

James Prestwich, Head of Policy at the National Housing Federation said: “We welcome the announcement of a £3bn guarantee scheme, which we called for in the Autumn. It will help housing associations borrow more cheaply and therefore build more homes. However, whilst this is an important contribution, we desperately need new money in the next spending review to build more social housing.

This is more crucial than ever in the midst of Brexit uncertainty - the lack of affordable housing is now pushing hundreds of thousands of working families to the brink - the number is rising year on year, many are living in debt, at threat of eviction or homeless.

We need to build 145,000 affordable homes every year to house these people - this is not a one off investment, the government must commit billions of pound every year into building more social housing. We hope, as the Comprehensive Spending Review approaches, the government will see sense and commit the significant investment needed into social housing."