A government audit has found that George Osborne's Help-to-Buy scheme delivered "very high value for money", providing £25bn of social value to the UK in the last financial year. The findings strengthen the hand of senior Labour figures, including housing minister Matthew Pennycook and former housing secretary Steve Reed, who have been pushing behind the scenes for a revived version of the scheme to boost home ownership, though they were overruled by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in favour of focusing on housing supply.

The review found that more than 387,000 people bought homes through the scheme, including over 328,000 first-time buyers, with nearly half saying they could not have bought a home without it. The report did not examine the scheme's effect on house prices, but it rebuts Treasury claims that it was an inefficient way to expand home ownership. The government says there are no current plans for a new scheme, though ministers reportedly considered reviving it ahead of this year's budget. Osborne launched the original scheme in 2013 via taxpayer-backed loans and mortgage guarantees for homes up to £600,000, but it drew criticism for inflating house prices and disproportionately benefiting buyers who could have purchased anyway, particularly outside London and the South East.