Homes subsidy hits £65,000

The provisional numbers, contained in a parliamentary answer by Ian Austin, the junior communities department minister, show that subsidy of £65,773 was required for every social home built in 2008/09.

This is a rise of 10.1% on the £59,752 per home spent in 2007/08. And it is more than double the amount spent in 1999/2000, when 815 homes were built for 28,454 each.

The move follows on from the government’s efforts to keep housebuilding going during the credit crunch. The Homes and Communities Agency was given permission a year ago to increase its grant rate in order to kickstart housing schemes.