The minister, who was replying to a Lords debate on affordable housing on 8 July 2010, said the review of housing benefit had, like cuts to the budget of the Homes and Communities Agency, been "based on the economic situation".

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Welfare benefits are also being cut and in a rocky housing market where more people are losing their homes, the budget for social housing is being cut by 60%.

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Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, urged the government to use next month's Budget to unlock the finance to deliver more affordable family homes.

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Koering says that, politically, it takes the focus away from the budget and the people who have lost their jobs, homes, or both and compares it to asking for a new football stadium in this economy when the old one is still usable.

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Buyers can almost think of it like a game: They choose options to build their dream homes, then add or delete items as the budget permits.

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"The project has another 48 months to run, which is plenty of time for us to accelerate the process of connecting homes, and complete the project on time and budget, " said Mr Millar.

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Warehouse retail experience for do-it-yourselfers at a time when consumers are not buying or selling homes as much as staying put and renovating under a budget.

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The announcement of the Greener Homes Innovation Scheme followed last week's 2013-14 budget which announced investment in construction, skills and the green economy.

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