Rayner says affordable homes “crucial” to 1.5m homes in NPPF revision – The Guardian

Delivering social and affordable homes at scale is a “crucial step” towards the new government’s goal of delivering 1.5 million homes, according to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who is set to reveal changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) this week.

In an online opinion piece for The Guardian posted at the weekend, Rayner, also housing secretary, wrote that her party “knew our country was in the grip of a housing emergency before we took office. But it’s even more grim than we imagined”.

This was “particularly acute” with social and affordable housing; Rayner pointed to the 1.3 million households on the waiting list for council homes. She said that in 2022-23, the last government delivered only 41,000 affordable homes for rent.

The previous government’s Affordable Homes Programme “won’t reach even three-quarters” of the goal set in 2020 of delivering up to 180,000 homes, Rayner claimed.

“As I know from my own experience, a secure, affordable home is not a luxury or simply nice to have, but the foundation on which everything else is built: decent work, a strong community, opportunity and hope for the future,” Rayner wrote.

She also said in her piece: “Delivering …