Chancellor John Healey will present his first Budget on Wednesday with more than £1bn allocated for social and affordable housing in England, bringing total funding for the government's 10-year homes programme past £40bn.
The Budget will also grant regional mayors and local leaders greater powers and funding. Councils will access preferential-rate borrowing from the government to invest in house-building. The Treasury said the measures aim to give regional leaders more flexibility and authority over investment decisions.
Chancellor Healey stated that English cities and regions would get the "right to decide their own future". Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the plans shift power to those "who know their communities best".
An initial £285m in transitional seed funding will be allocated next year to support mayors and local leaders and reduce reliance on what the Treasury called "fragmented bidding pots" in Whitehall. The government will also design a new £1.5bn borrowing facility from 2028, which mayors could use to support local priorities including new homes, High Street regeneration or transport improvements.
Areas not yet designated as strategic authorities will access a share of the £285m to fund projects contributing to growth.
Healey said: "Mayors and local leaders know what their communities need to grow, which is why we are giving them more money, more power and more capacity to get projects moving, build homes and make the right decisions for their areas."
Prime Minister Burnham stated: "I'm calling time on local leaders going cap in hand to Westminster. That is no way to run a country."
Claire Ward, chairwoman of the UK Mayors Network and East Midlands mayor, said the additional "powers and resources through increased devolution" would enable communities to turn "ambitious plans into reality". London Mayor Sadiq Khan said greater investment ability could help unlock major infrastructure projects including the West London Orbital route and Bakerloo line extension.
The Budget announcement also includes support for small breweries. The Treasury said Healey wants to "turn the tide for our pint producers", following news that 310 jobs face risk at Marston's Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent after owner Carlsberg Britvic announced closure plans.
Departing Treasury entrepreneurship adviser Alex Depledge criticised the government's approach to start-ups ahead of her final day Thursday. She told the Sunday Times that start-ups were being treated as a "sideshow" and pushed to the "margins of economic policy".