A new £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings has been unveiled today by the chancellor.

In his 2020 Budget announcement, Rishi Sunak said the £1bn building safety fund will enable all unsafe materials to be removed from public and private buildings more than 18 metres tall.

Mr Sunak also said the Affordable Homes Programme would be extended with a new, multi-year settlement of £12bn, the largest cash injection into affordable housing for a decade.

Nearly £1.1bn of allocations from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will help build nearly 70,000 new homes in high demand areas across the country, he said.

In addition, ‘ambitious' mayors will have access to a new £400m fund to build new homes on brownfield sites.

To help tackle homelessness, the chancellor said a new £650m fund would help rough sleepers move into permanent accommodation, which will provide 6,000 new places and 'enable a step change in support services'.