The chancellor must use next week’s spending review to deliver 1.5 million new homes and boost investment in social and affordable housing, the chair of the cross-party Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has said.

In a letter to Rachel Reeves this week, Florence Eshalomi MP states that evidence to the committee from across the housing sector has been clear that the government will fail to meet the 1.5m new homes target if it relies on the private sector alone and that investment in social and affordable housing is crucial to this ambition.

Chair Florence Eshalomi said: “The failure by successive governments to deliver enough new homes is having a devastating impact on our country. Families are waiting for years on social housing waiting lists, and young people are seeing their rent go through the roof while the dream of home ownership fades even further.

“The chancellor must match the stated ambitions of the government in the spending review and bring forward a generational increase in affordable and social housing investment. This is critical if the government wants to meet its pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.”