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Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Asked by Helen MorganLiberal DemocratMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 23 January 2025UIN 24965

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of Homes England’s investment programmes was spent in rural settlements with a population of 3,000 or fewer in each of the last three years.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook

Homes England do not publish a breakdown of rural housing spend or delivery for the Affordable Homes Programme. The Local Authority Housing Statistics [footnote 8] collects the number of new build and acquisitions in populations of less than 3,000. In 2023-24, there were 5,248 new affordable homes in these areas, which accounted for 8% of all new affordable housing. This is an increase of 7% compared to the previous year but lower than a peak of 5,702 in 2018-19. As a percentage, delivery in populations of less than 3,000 has been 8% since 2020-21, lower than a peak of 12% in 2015-16.

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