The Treasury has confirmed that Wednesday's Budget will provide more than £1bn for social and affordable housing, according to PA and the BBC. The announcement, made over the weekend, puts on the record a figure the Mirror first reported from a government briefing.
The Treasury says the money takes the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme to more than £40bn. That figure holds up. The existing programme stands at £39bn, so a top-up of just over £1bn is an increase of under 3% and lifts the total to just over £40bn.
The Treasury has not said how much of the £1bn is new money. It has also not confirmed the Mirror's report that the funding could deliver up to 10,000 council homes.
The Treasury also says the Budget will give England's mayors more powers and funding. According to PA, the government has allocated an initial £285m next year for mayors' "Good Growth" funding.
Claire Ward, chairwoman of the UK Mayors Network and Labour's East Midlands mayor, welcomed the package. She said: "Having the right powers and resources through increased devolution will help us to turn our ambitious plans into reality and deliver real, lasting change for our communities."