// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Budget to include £1bn for social and affordable housing
Chancellor John Healey will present his first Budget on Wednesday
More than £1bn for social and affordable housing in England will be provided in the Budget, taking funding for the government's 10-year homes programme past £40bn.
Mayors and regional leaders across England are also expected to get greater powers and funding in Wednesday's announcement - with councils helped to borrow money from the government to invest in housebuilding through preferential interest rates.
It is hoped the plans will give regional leaders more flexibility and authority over investment decisions.
Chancellor John Healey said English cities and regions would get the "right to decide their own future", while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the plans were about shifting power to those "who know their communities best".
The chancellor will also announce more support for small breweries with the Treasury saying he wants "to turn the tide for our pint producers".
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reports, external that Healey is expected to unveil billions of pounds of new defence spending in the Budget. Specific details on the funding would be outlined at next year's spending review
But shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith has called for Healey to resign if he fails to set out how the UK will spend 3% of the UK's GDP on defence by 2030.
Between quick wins and big dreams lies Burnham's biggest test
Under the plans for the regions, an initial £285m in transitional seed funding will be allocated by the government next year to support mayors and local leaders - and reduce reliance on "fragmented bidding pots" in Whitehall, the Treasury said.