Memoranda from Ann Petherick (CRED 07)

 

1.1 Policy The UK currently has no workable or credible housing policy. Other than the small amount of grant to housing associations shared, latterly, with private developers, government has effectively abandoned responsibility for housing.

 

1.2 The policy of relying almost totally on the private sector may be made to work when house-building is buoyant but it clearly will not work in a downturn. The unpalatable fact is that Government is going to have to start investing in housing again.

 

1.3 I hold no brief for the house-builders, who have made obscene levels of profit throughout the last 20 years, but I can also see that a matter as important as housing should never be left almost totally to the private sector.

 

2.1 Repossessions Government places continuing emphasis on the need to attain its targets for housebuilding, despite these being wholly unattainable in the current climate, when the priority should be to stop repossessions. Many houses repossessed then stand empty, when a relatively small amount of investment, via housing associations, or local authorities, could enable their inhabitants to remain. Not only would this avoid additional pressure being put on waiting lists, it would prevent the distress & disruption of communities which repossession brings.

2.2 Repossession not only affects those who have been unable to keep up their repayments but also those renting from private owners who themselves fail to continue payments. I note that in some states in the USA sherriffs have refused to repossess the homes of such innocent people & UK lenders should be compelled to adopt such a policy in return for the vast sums allocated to support them.

 

3.1 Affordablity The endless use of the word 'affordable' serves to obscure rather than reveal. If the word means anything, it means housing provided for sale or rent as less than the market cost. In other words, subsidised. I believe that the p.c. lobby has unhelpfully rendered the word subsidised unacceptable & a return to its use would focus attention on the source of subsidy.

 

3.2 Intermediate-level rented housing Housing provision has become polarisated, between social renting. & the private sector, whether for sale or rent, with a very small amount of shared ownership offering the only intermediate provision. Yet incomes are not polarised in that way. Although in theory Housing Benefit redresses the balance, it is something of a blunt instrument. A mechanism to enable a new provision of intermediate-level rented housing is urgently needed, for those on average incomes - i.e,. via a not-for-profit body such as a housing trust.

 

4.1 Re-emergence of local authority housing. Whereas the idea has merit in principle, I am concerned that it too is unworkable, now that local authorities no longer have staff with housing expertise. It is no answer to say that they can buy-in the expertise from consultants since, if there is no housing expertise in-house, there is no-one to know when consultants are needed, which companies are competent, etc. This is a lesson that central government should have learnt in the past, from their own policy of reducing their numbers of in-house special staff.

 

5.1 Use of existing resources All parties and all factions are agreed that before more new housing is built, even when that is possible, we should make maximum use of existing brownfield land, empty homes, and part-vacant commercial property.

 

5.2 Despite the Empty Homes Agency having been set up in 1992 the number of empty homes has continued to increase, & the rate of increase is accelerating. Does this mean that without the Agency the number would have increased still further ? Or that the Agency has been ineffective ? Research is needed.

 

6.1 Conclusion The government's approach is not working & needs to be completely rewritten.

 

October 2008