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We need a minister who listens to the sector
The next housing minister needs to work with social landlords to provide homes people can afford to live in, says Terrie Alafat
When Theresa May called a snap election in April we urged each party to give housing the attention it warranted and not let Brexit dominate.
I was sceptical about this but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
“We need action now to solve the housing crisis and prolonged uncertainty will simply undermine that goal.”
Though Brexit played a leading role in the run-up to the election, housing got a decent share of attention too – both in campaigning and in each party’s manifesto.
Perhaps this shouldn’t have come as a surprise – housing is on the agenda because it has to be. We simply cannot go on with the system that we have or the implications for future generations will be every bit as significant as the impact of Brexit.
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It is nonetheless good to be in a position where every major political party has recognised that we have to act now to solve the housing crisis, and crucially that we need to find a way to build new homes of all types to get us there.
politicians can form an effective new government as quickly as possible – we need action now to solve the housing crisis and prolonged uncertainty will simply undermine that goal.
One thing we do know is that we will be working with yet another new housing minister, as Gavin Barwell has lost his seat. We have unfortunately had to get used to it in our industry, but such lack of continuity is not helpful.
I always appreciated Mr Barwell’s willingness to listen and work with the sector. That kind of approach is the only way we will be able to address the country’s housing challenges and build the genuinely affordable homes that we so desperately need.
Whoever they are, we hope that Housing 2017, our annual conference at the end of June, will be one of the first opportunities for the sector to hear from the new housing minister and consider their emerging policies.
“I always appreciated Mr Barwell’s willingness to listen and work with the sector.”
In their manifestos all three major parties rightly recognised that we need an ambitious long-term plan to get to grips with the housing crisis. Whatever the new government looks like, we at CIH, along with housing professionals across the UK, are ready to work with them on developing that plan and putting it into practice.
In our latest member opinion poll, 60 per cent of people who took part in either strongly agreed or agreed that housing has got the attention it deserves, but just 25 per cent thought there had been enough focus on truly affordable housing.
We believe more investment is urgently needed in genuinely affordable homes to rent. One of the new government’s priorities should be rebalancing the housing budget – affordable housing currently accounts for just 16% of total direct investment.
They should also take the opportunity to review the welfare reforms which have been brought in since 2012 and those that are still to come. We are getting to the stage where even the most affordable housing is out of reach for people who need any kind of help with their housing costs.
Finally, we need more action on homelessness, which has been steadily rising in all its forms since 2010. The new Homelessness Reduction Act is a good first step, but legislation on its own is simply not enough – councils must have the resources they need to deliver their new obligations.
Of course, while we wait to see what happens, housing professionals will be getting on with their work providing decent, safe, affordable homes for the people that most need them. We must hope that a new government emerges as quickly as possible so we can continue to work together on creating a housing system that is fair for everyone.
Terrie Alafat, chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing
