The ideal result for key workers would be a housing system that works better for everyone

The campaign that launched this week has a number of proposals, including a programme of 100,000 low-cost homes “prioritised for the heroes who have put themselves at risk to keep us alive and healthy throughout this crisis”, in a scheme funded through a combination of public giving, public land, government funding and housing association resources, to lever in private funding.

The new campaign shines a light on the impact the existing housing crisis will have on people on low incomes, for whom society is notionally showing support at the moment.

This magazine welcomes Homes for Heroes and its emphasis on the need for a programme of low-cost homes (as a number of groups have noted in recent years, a programme of social rented housing is particularly important).

It is important that any focus on key workers doesn’t feed into narratives about the deserving and undeserving poor. Key workers need help because there are failings with the overall housing system that need addressing.

This has wider benefits, too – as Sir Oliver Letwin’s review of build-out rates from a couple of years ago found, the homogeneity of tenure on many sites are “fundamental drivers of the slow rate of build out”. This is one to think about as new government guidance advises councils to consider letting some developers defer Section 106 payments.

And we need to look at the inadequacies of our current housing benefit system, such as the benefit cap and the bedroom tax.

So, yes, let’s deliver the best possible result for key workers who have done such incredible work during the current crisis. And that has to be a system that works for all.

Martin Hilditch, editor, Inside Housing