- Prime minister Andy Burnham has unveiled a £10bn package to construct 70,000 new homes across England as part of his government's priority to tackle the housing crisis.
- The money comes from a £39bn fund agreed under Sir Keir Starmer, though only 60 per cent will go to social rent, backtracking on Burnham's pledge to dedicate the full fund to social housing.
- Local councils and housing associations will receive direct funding to accelerate building, with London set to receive around £2bn and Greater Manchester allocated £529m.
- Housing charity Shelter warned that the target falls short of the 90,000 new social homes required annually to resolve the homelessness crisis.
- Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly criticised the scheme as an unfunded sleight of hand, noting that final home deliveries are backloaded until 2039.
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