Chancellor John Healey is set to unveil his inaugural Budget this Wednesday, headlined by a commitment of over £1bn in additional funding for social and affordable housing across England. This significant capital injection will push the total investment for the government’s decade-long housing initiative beyond the £40bn threshold. Taking funding for the government’s 10-year homes programme past £40bn, more than £1bn for social and affordable housing in England will be provided in the Budget.
Alongside the housing package, the government plans to grant mayors and regional leaders expanded authority and financial tools. This includes providing councils with access to preferential government interest rates to incentivize local house-building. Chancellor Healey stated that these reforms aim to grant cities and regions the “right to decide their own future,” a sentiment echoed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who framed the policy as a shift of power toward those “who know their communities best.”
The Treasury also confirmed plans to assist small breweries, citing an intent “to turn the tide for our pint producers.” This intervention arrives following the announcement that 310 jobs are under threat at Marston’s Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent. The potential closure of the historic site, now owned by Carlsberg Britvic, was a key topic of debate during Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this week. Fresh support for breweries follows the news that 310 jobs are at risk at Marston’s Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent.
Separately, the political pressure on the Chancellor is mounting, with Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith demanding that Healey resign unless he provides a clear roadmap for achieving a defence spending target of 3% of the UK’s GDP by 2030.
