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Welsh government announces additional £50m for Social Housing Grant
The Welsh government has allocated an additional £50m for its Social Housing Grant programme via its final Budget, bringing the total investment for 2021/22 to £250m.
Yesterday, finance minister Rebecca Evans unveiled the government’s final Budget, following the publication of the draft Budget in December.
The £250m spend on Social Housing Grant is £50m more than promised as part of the draft Budget, marking a £87m increase on the current year’s funding.
A further £50m has been announced to extend and upscale the government’s Optimised Retrofit Programme, which provides funding to social landlords carrying out retrofits.
The scheme was first launched last year with a budget of £19.5m.
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The government will also invest an additional £10m in financial transactions capital through its Land for Housing scheme to increase the supply and rate of delivery of affordable and market housing by securing land sites.
In addition to the new spending, the final Budget has confirmed the additional £40m for the Housing Support Grant, the primary funding stream used to prevent homelessness in Wales.
Stuart Ropke, chief executive at Community Housing Cymru, said: “In a year when the importance of home has been highlighted more than ever, we are delighted to see record-breaking levels of investment for housing confirmed in today’s Welsh Budget.
“The additional £50m allocation for Social Housing Grant takes the total investment to £250m, nearly four times the amount distributed during the 2016 Budget, and highlights the commitment the current Welsh government has made to building good-quality affordable homes.
“The £50m investment for Optimised Retrofit is welcome news for housing associations that are already embarking on innovative approaches to decarbonisation and a further positive step to supporting housing associations to undertake their decarbonisation ambitions.
“We are also pleased to see confirmation of a £40m increase for the Housing Support Grant.
“This funding will allow housing associations and support providers to continue providing essential services to tenants and support people out of homelessness, which has been vital throughout the pandemic.”
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