Astonished’ MPs Told £817m Has Gone Unspent In Housing Budget

MPs are demanding an urgent explanation from ministers after being told that £817m allocated for desperately needed affordable housing and other projects in cash-strapped local authorities has been returned to the Treasury unspent. The surrender of the unused cash has astonished members of the cross-party housing, communities and local government select committee at a time when Theresa May has insisted housebuilding is a top priority and when many local authorities are becoming mired in ever deeper financial crises. The committee, which discovered the underspend for 2017-18, will interrogate housing minister Dominic Raab and homelessness minister Heather Wheeler on the issue, before the spring statement by the chancellor, Philip Hammond. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/10/housing-budget-817-million-unspent-astonished-mps