The Government should count investment in social housing as infrastructure spending, rather than day-to-day spending. Evidence shows that spending on a long-term social housebuilding programme pays back to the Exchequer over time. Furthermore, such a programme could be counter-cyclical, both protecting and creating jobs during a wider housing downturn caused by COVID-19 economic uncertainty.

The Government should count investment in social housing as infrastructure spending, rather than day-to-day spending. Evidence shows that spending on a long-term social housebuilding programme pays back to the Exchequer over time. Furthermore, such a programme could be counter-cyclical, both protecting and creating jobs during a wider housing downturn caused by COVID-19 economic uncertainty. Type: recommendation | Number: 12 | Paragraph: 89 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: We have launched the new Affordable Homes Programme, which overlaps with the current programme, to give providers certainty and the confidence to commit to new developments and maintain the provision of affordable homes. While the main funding ends in 2026, delivery will continue beyond this time to