To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department’s definition is of affordable housing; and what changes have been made to the definition since May 1997. (176592)

Affordable housing is defined in detail in Planning Policy Statement 3 Annex B. In essence it includes social rented and intermediate units provided to households whose needs are not met by the market. This excludes ‘low cost market’ housing—for example, homes which do not remain affordable on resale.

The new definition was adopted because Government wished to ensure that developer contributions are used to help provide genuinely affordable housing for households in need over the long term.