Ministers confirm plans to reduce London’s affordable housing quotas

The plans, which were revealed last week by the Guardian, come after new housebuilding in London shrank to just a few thousand units a year. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Ministers have confirmed plans to reduce affordable housing quotas in London as they try to reverse the recent collapse in housebuilding in the capital.

Steve Reed, the housing secretary, said on Thursday that developers would be allowed to qualify for fast-track planning status if their projects included 20% affordable housing, down from the current target of 35%. Of those 20% however, 60% will have to be available at the cheapest social rents.