On 24 August, the Labour Party announced the allocation of nearly £10bn in government funding to build social housing and affordable homes across England over the next decade. It adds to the £6bn already assigned to similar developments in London.

The areas set to receive a share are predominantly Northern, consisting of Greater Manchester, Liverpool, North East England, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the West Midlands.

It represents the first stage of a £39bn programme to build some 300,000 new affordable houses. £16bn of the remainder is earmarked specifically for construction outside of the capital.

But there’s a catch. Burnham previously said that he thought the full £39bn should go to social renting. However, today’s announcement stated that just 60% of the £10bn will do so.

Burnham: ‘I would devote all of it to social housing’

Three months ago in May, then-Manchester mayor appeared on the Social Housing Podcast to give his take on the £39bn proposal. At the time, he said that:

I would actually devote all of it to social housing.

However, according to yesterday’s announcement, 60% of the £10bn would go to social renting. That is, properties managed by social landlords which people can apply to rent at around half the normal price, provided they meet certain requirements.

Meanwhile, the remaining 40% will go to other forms of affordable housing, e.g., sheltered accommodation and shared ownership schemes.

Appearing onBBC Breakfast, Matthew Pennycook — Labour housing minister – tried to spin this as Burnham taking a “pragmatic approach”. In fact, today’s decision would help “get money out the door”. Pennycook then claimed that a greater portion of the next block of funding would go to council housing.

Now, eagle-eyed readers may already have noticed a bit of linguistic slippage here. That is, council housing is a form of social renting. But, for the most part, the funding in yesterday’s announcement won’t go to the councils themselves.

Instead, the BBCreported that:

It is understood ministers decided against giving councils more of the funding announced in the first tranche because they did not believe councils would be in a position to build the required number of social homes.

More specifically, the government will divvy to £10bn between 33 ‘strategic partners’ to build over the course of the decade. Of those 33, the Guardian reported that three will be local councils.

Rayner didn’t get the memo

Housing secretary Angela Rayner, however, apparently didn’t get the memo about Pennycook trying to smooth over Burnham backtracking on social rent/council housing/other ‘affordable housing’. Instead, she waxed lyrical on the fact that local councils were being included at all:

Growing up on a council estate and raising children as a young working mum, I know firsthand that access to a secure, affordable home can be a lifeline for families up and down the country.

Add to that how Guardian readers would:

know just how important council housing is too. You will know it’s so much more than just a roof over your head – it gives working parents a safe place to raise their family, offers kids the stability needed to thrive in school and wraps a community around those who need it most. […]

This once-in-a-generation investment will help rewrite these stories, delivering the genuinely affordable homes our country needs, getting people off waiting lists and helping families put down roots so they can get on in life.

You know what though? This is a good thing. When Burnham first became PM, he pledged to fight what he called the “insidious briefing culture” of the Labour Party. And my God does it look like he’s delivered on that promise… I’m not sure that anyone was briefed on Labour’s social housing line in the slightest.

Featured image via the Canary

By Grace

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