When asked if she was going to have to “quietly ditch” the plan, Rayner said the goal was always a “stretched target”.
Rayner (pictured) said: “The situation in the Middle East, and building costs have gone up at the moment… [these] are having a negative effect on that target”, said Rayner.
The Housing Secretary emphasised the focus Burnham’s social housebuilding programme: “The Prime Minister wants us to make sure we’re building council houses. He’s made that absolutely, fundamentally clear.”
Public new housing output declined from 2,323 in Q1 2025 to 1,964 in Q2 2026, a fall of 15.5%.
The sector has now recorded declines in three consecutive quarters since peaking at 2,387 in Q3 2025.
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From that peak, output has dropped by 17.7%.
Private housebuilding has also slowed, with Office for National Statistics (ONS) construction data reporting that the largest contribution to the decline in new work came from a 4.9% drop in private housing construction.
Rayner added: “I’m definitely not giving it up” and maintained that the government remained steadfast in its social and affordable homes programme.
