Member

In addition to the figures already mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Best, which I knew he would do well, I want us to look very briefly at net delivery; that is the number of homes built minus the homes lost in that category, which is a true reflection of numbers. Official figures, which now helpfully separate the tenures —they did not do so until recently; they were all lumped together as affordable before—continue to show net losses. In the year ending March 2023, there was a loss of 4,060 homes, and in 2023-24, despite a rise in the actual delivery of affordable homes, the social housing segment of that year’s figures resulted in just 700 new net social homes after accounting for the losses by right to buy and other schemes. Just let that sink in; only 700 net new homes for social rent, while we have over 130,000 households in temporary accommodation.