Deputy PM Angela Rayner to boost councils power to prioritise homes for social rent

Around 1.3million families are on waiting lists for social housing and almost 160,000 children are living in temporary accommodation - the highest figure on record

Angela Rayner will today put social homes at the heart of the biggest wave of housebuilding for decades.

The Deputy PM will outline plans to boost the powers of councils to prioritise homes for social rent where needed across the country. New proposals will also give greater weight to ensure schools, GP surgeries and vital transport links are planned and delivered alongside new housing developments.

Around 1.3million families are on waiting lists for social housing and almost 160,000 children are living in temporary accommodation - the highest figure on record. It coincides with a fall in the number of social homes for rent by nearly 205,000 since 2013.

A Whitehall source told The Mirror : "This shows that we’re serious about fixing the housing crisis and delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation. We're backing councils to build the social housing people so desperately need and increase the supply of secure homes."

While there will be no numerical target for the number of new social homes the charity Shelter has previously said England needs at least 90,000 built a year to clear waiting lists.

But the Housing Secretary will order local authorities to meet mandatory housing targets overall in order to reach the government's mission to build 1.5million homes by the end of the current Parliament.

An extra £100million will be made available for councils' planning officers with 300 extra staff to "turbocharge" decision making, the government said. And reforms will also allow poor quality parts of the Green belt to be built on in a move likely to spark fury from countryside campaigners and some Tory MPs.

But the government insisted new "golden rules" would force developers to boost public services in the area, such as nurseries and GP surgeries, and deliver affordable homes.

It comes after Keir Starmer committed to building 1.5million homes by 2029, which would require house building on a scale not seen since after the Second World War. The PM said in a statement: “For far too long, working people graft hard but are denied the security of owning their own home. I know how important it is - our pebble dash semi meant everything to our family growing up.

"But with a generation of young people whose dream of homeownership feels like a distant reality, and record levels of homelessness, there’s no shying away from the housing crisis we have inherited."

He added: “We owe it to those working families to take urgent action, and that is what this government is doing.

Our Plan for Change will put builders not blockers first, overhaul the broken planning system and put roofs over the heads of working families and drive the growth that will put more money in people's pockets.

Ms Rayner added: “From day one I have been open and honest about the scale of the housing crisis we have inherited. This mission-led government will not shy away from taking the bold and decisive action needed to fix it for good. We cannot shirk responsibility and leave over a million families on housing waiting lists and a generation locked out of home ownership."