CHC statement: Welsh Government final budget 2024/25

Welsh Government has today published its final budget for 2024 to 2025.

The final budget sees some key shifts for social housing, including an additional £5m being allocated to the Social Housing Grant, and an additional £5m also being allocated to the Homelessness and Prevention budget line, which the Housing Support Grant sits within.

Responding to the news, Stuart Ropke, Community Housing Cymru chief executive, said:

On the Social Housing Grant increase:

“The final budget for 2024/25 includes some welcome changes for social housing.

“We have been clear that building affordable homes is a key part of setting a sustainable course out of the housing crisis in Wales. It has never been more difficult to do so, with cost inflation restricting the impact of government investment in recent years. So we are pleased that Welsh Government has increased Social Housing Grant funding by £5m from the draft budget to allow this to happen. Welsh housing associations are currently building 70% of social homes and this funding boost will support them to continue this.

“Alongside funding, we need to urgently look at the systems and structures that all homebuilders rely on that are still delaying people and communities getting new homes. We were pleased to see that the Senedd’s Local Government and Housing Committee has recently launched an inquiry into this important topic.”

"There is huge potential for housing associations and others to not just build more housing, but build the right housing in the right places for the people of Wales now and for many years to come. The additional funding today is a really welcome step in the right direction, but there is more to be done."

On the Housing Support Grant:

“The final budget sees a further £5m being allocated to the Homelessness Support and Prevention line. This is a welcome increase. We will continue to work with Welsh Government to ensure that as much additional funding as possible is allocated to the Housing Support Grant.

“We were clear in the run up to this announcement that if we didn’t see an enhanced funding settlement for the Housing Support Grant, there would be insufficient funding for frontline workers to be paid fairly and we would likely lose services at a time they have never been more needed.

“Homelessness and housing support services need a sustainable multi-year funding settlement that ensures these vital services and their dedicated staff are able to continue to deliver their life-changing work.”

Read our in-depth briefing paper here.

For press and media queries, please email Ruth Dawson, head of communications at ruth-dawson@chcymru.org.uk.