Published in September 2019, the Report was commissioned to consider the historic geographical distribution of funding for housing delivery; and consider the impact of Homes England’s (HE) methodology for calculating ‘highest affordability pressure’ - a ratio of median house prices to median workplace-based incomes. This methodology looks at the geographical distribution of housing investment per capita and what share of funding the North could expect.

The Report states that within England’s East and South East regions, 8 Local Authorities are not eligible or not priorities for housing funding, whilst across the North region, only 12 Local Authorities are eligible for HE funding. The Report does not explore the public policy drivers, socio-economic, or housing market implications of the change in spending, but instead presents data to illustrate the spatial disparity in central government housing funding, both historically and going forward to 2022.