MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary
of State for Housing, commenting on new Government
statistics showing a 98 per cent fall in new social rented homes,
said:
“After seven years of Tory failure on housing, homelessness
has doubled, home-ownership has fallen to a 30-year low and the
number of new genuinely affordable homes being built has fallen
off a cliff.
“These shocking new figures show that in the six months
before the Chancellor’s so-called ‘housing Budget’, the number of
new Government-funded homes for social rent fell by 98 per cent
compared to Labour’s last year in office.
“It’s time Ministers supported Labour’s plan to build
100,000 low-cost homes to rent and buy a year, including backing
councils to build again.”
Ends
Notes to editors
· New
affordable housing statistics released today show that just 199
new government-funded homes for social rent were built in April
to September this year, compared to 10,597 in the same period in
2009/10 – a fall of 98%
· https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662763/Live_Table_1012.xlsx
· The
rate of home-ownership has fallen to a 30-year low: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/658479/2015-16_Section_1_Households_Annex_Tables.xlsx
· The
number of homeless people sleeping rough on the streets has more
than doubled: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/585706/Rough_Sleeping_Autumn_2016_Final_Tables.xls
· There
was no new government funding for affordable housing in the
Autumn Budget.
· Labour’s
plan to build 100,000 affordable homes to rent and buy a year is
available here: https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Housing-Mini-Manifesto.pdf
