Putting
Hope Into
Housing
Shelter responds to the Autumn Budget 2026
Boosted funding to tackle rough sleeping and build more social homes is welcome, but the government needs to go even further to put hope back into housing and end the housing emergency.
This Autumn Budget was a chance to introduce ambitious changes that would get councils building social homes at scale. A chance to prove the doubters wrong. A chance for pigs to fly.
What the Chancellor delivered was not the historic council housebuilding budget we had hoped for.
But there were some very positive announcements, including:
an additional £432 million in funding to ensure that people sleeping rough have a route off the street
a further £1.5bn for the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, enough to build around 10,000 additional social and affordable homes
However, this level of funding will not be enough to deliver on the government’s promise of a council housing revolution. And, crucially, there was no cancellation of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) debt. Without removing this debt, councils will not be in the position to build the number of social homes needed to end the housing emergency. And councils still can’t access the low-cost government loans needed to help them build new social homes.
Whilst the pigs didn’t take off this time, it’s never too late to see them soar. We will continue to campaign for the ambitious changes required to get councils building again.
The Budget shows our campaigning is working
We need to keep pushing the government to get councils building again.
Video transcript
You may be wondering who this guy is and why there's an inflatable pig with wings on Shelter's new campaign to get councils building social houses again.
Well Sheldon, as well as being cute, has a very important job: to make sure Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey turn their council housebuilding promises into action this Autumn Budget.
The government's been saying all the right things. Now, it's time to prove the doubters wrong.
For years, people have been saying that councils will never build social homes at scale again. That it's can't be done. That it's more likely pigs will fly.
We say: time for lift off. Councils have done it before, and they can do it again.
If, at the Autumn Budget, the government backs councils to build the social homes the country needs, our giant inflatable friend will take to the sky.
At long last, pigs will fly.
Why do we need to get councils building?
Homelessness is at record levels in England, and continues to rise.
To reverse this trend, we need to build 90,000 social homes a year, for 10 years.
The surest way to ramp up delivery of social homes is through local councils. They are best placed to build homes that meet the needs of their communities. Homes that are safe and secure. Homes that give families a foundation to thrive.
But for too long councils’ ability to build has been hamstrung by unsustainable debt, restrictive fiscal rules and inadequate funding.
So how can we get councils building again?
We asked the Chancellor for four things at the Autumn Budget.
1. Remove the debt that stops councils building
2. Give councils access to fair, low-cost loans
3. Bring forward and increase the £39bn Social and Affordable Housing Programme
4. Change public borrowing rules to enable greater investment in social housing
These measures would empower councils to once again take a bold, active role in building and managing new social homes.
You can learn more about how these recommendations would work by reading our new report: Foundation to Thrive: How to Unlock a Council Housing Revolution.
Learn more about the housing emergency
Let's build social housing
