London accounts for a third of new affordable local authority housing

London boroughs accounted for a third of all new affordable local authority housing in England between April 2019 and March 2020, government data shows.

This represents an increase from a quarter in the proceeding four years.

The number of social rent units started in 2019-20 increased by 19 per cent compared to 2018-19.

However in London London rent starts nearly doubled (91%) compared to the previous year.

Murad Qureshi, Labour’s London Assembly Housing spokesperson,  said: “These figures provide yet further proof that London is increasingly at the front of the pack when it comes to building the next generation of council homes.

“This comes despite the fact the government have made huge cuts to the budgets of London’s councils over the last decade, continuing to short-change them during the current pandemic.

“In recent years, City Hall has also presided over record numbers of affordable housing starts, but like councils, it has faced the obstacle of gross underfunding from central government.

“To supply the homes that Londoners desperately need, the Mayor has been clear that £4.9bn a year in funding is needed. Instead, Ministers are holding back on getting more shovels in the ground, by only allocating a fractional £800m a year. 

“With the pandemic dramatically slowing construction and the threat of a no-deal Brexit on the horizon, this injection of support is urgently needed.”