Recommendation 17

In contrast, the Department does consider welfare savings and quantified these in the 2021 programme business case. The Department’s modelling showed that delivering new homes for social rent in London leads to significant savings in future housing benefit costs, compared to other regions. The Department forecast that over a 30-year and 60- year period respectively, 69% and 110% of the grant funding needed to deliver a home for social rent is repaid by forecast housing benefit savings.45 The Department noted that these savings are very long term, with the payback period measured in decades. The Department told us that it was an option to allocate more money to London, but this must be balanced with other policy considerations.46 38 C&AG’s Report, paras 22, 4.10 39 Written evidence submitted by London Councils, dated September 2022 40 Qq 40, 52 41 Q 53 42 Qq 82–84 43 Written evidence submitted by McCarthy Stone, dated September 2022 44 Q 81 45 C&AG’s Report, paras 22, 4.9 46 Qq 78–79 The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015 13 Net-zero standards