Bradford's social housing will receive a much-needed cash injection as part of a national drive to provide more affordable homes.

The Government has announced it will give Yorkshire and Humber £315 million to help solve the growing crisis and support the commitment to provide at least 70,000 affordable homes across the country each year by 2010/11.

Although it is unclear how the money will be divided out or what share Bradford Council chiefs and local housing associations may get, some of the cash will also be spent on improving current housing stock.

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said 70 per cent of households are now home owners, and 90 per cent say they want to be.

She said: "As a government we want to widen access to home ownership and help more people build up assets. But home ownership won't be sustainable for everyone. And for some it is a real struggle to find an affordable stable home in the private sector."

Official figures show that last year there were more than 41,000 families waiting for a council home in Bradford. In Kirklees there were 6,964 and a further 7,489 in Calderdale. The figures do not include households waiting for transfers to other properties. There were also 96 housholds officially described as homeless in Bradford, according to national charity Shelter.