The claim — "The current government is determined to change the housing situation" — is a statement of intent and commitment. While such claims are inherently somewhat subjective, the Labour government has backed its rhetoric with substantial, concrete policy actions and financial commitments that clearly demonstrate determination on this front. Key evidence includes: 1. **£39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme**: Confirmed at the June 2025 Spending Review, this is a 10-year programme (2026–2036) described as the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in recent memory, aiming to deliver around 300,000 social and affordable homes, including 180,000 for social rent. 2. **1.5 million homes target**: The government set a target of building 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament, included in Starmer's "Milestones for Mission-Led Government." 3. **Planning reforms**: The government has reformed the National Planning Policy Framework and introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to accelerate housing delivery. 4. **Right to Buy reforms**: The government is reforming Right to Buy to protect existing social housing stock, including increasing eligibility requirements to 10 years and exempting newly built social housing for 35 years. 5. **New towns programme**: Over 100 new town and urban extension sites have come forward for consideration, each with potential for 10,000 or more homes. 6. **Council housebuilding**: For 2024–25, council housebuilding in England reportedly hit its highest level in almost 40 years, with over 10,000 new council homes built. 7. **Additional support**: £2.5 billion in low-interest loans to Private Registered Providers, equal access to building safety remediation funding, and a 10-year rent settlement to provide sector certainty. The government's actions — major financial commitments, legislative reform, and explicit targets — clearly substantiate the claim of determination to change the housing situation. While the outcomes remain to be seen and critics note that delivery targets may fall short of need, the claim is about determination and intent, which is well-supported by the evidence. Sources: - GOV.UK, "Hundreds of thousands to get secure roof over their heads" (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hundreds-of-thousands-to-get-secure-roof-over-their-heads) - GOV.UK, "Delivering a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing" (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-a-decade-of-renewal-for-social-and-affordable-housing/delivering-a-decade-of-renewal-for-social-and-affordable-housing) - GOV.UK, "Housing Secretary speech to Lloyds' Social Housing Forum" (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/housing-secretary-speech-to-lloyds-social-housing-forum) - Inside Housing, "Sir Keir Starmer exclusive: keeping our housing promises" (https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/sir-keir-starmer-exclusive-keeping-our-housing-promises-92291) - The Guardian, "Rachel Reeves to unveil £39bn housing boost in spending review shake-up" (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/10/rachel-reeves-to-unveil-39bn-housing-boost-in-spending-review-shake-up) - Cambridge Core, "'Build, Baby, Build'? A Critical Assessment of Housing Policy over the First Year of the Labour Government in the UK" (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/build-baby-build-a-critical-assessment-of-housing-policy-over-the-first-year-of-the-labour-government-in-the-uk/EA1F9533ED70C5AFB71CC857EA34F3F0)