Labour pledges decent homes standard for PRS

Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Manchester today, Jack Dromey said Labour had made significant achievements in public health and well-being through the decent homes programme. But he warned that more needed to be done to ensure that poor housing was not contributing to vast sums of taxpayers’ money being spent in the health and care system.

‘Today significant problems remain, especially in the rapidly expanding private rented sector: 35 per cent of homes in the private rented sector do not meet decent standards. Building upon what we achieved by social decent homes, a Labour government will move forward with a decent standard for the private rented sector,’ Dromey said.

He described the policy as a ‘something for something’ approach, which would provide incentives to private landlords to upgrade their properties.

The shadow minister claimed that, though he disagreed with the government’s reorganisation of the National Health Service, it would provide new opportunities for housing to integrate with health and social care.

However Lorraine Jackson, senior policy manager at the Department of Health, warned that housing professionals would need to learn the language of health if it was to succeed in influencing policy.

‘The language is different, and it’s going to be different between health and care, and between care and housing. We need to find a language around people’s needs that everyone can relate to. People have to approach the health and social care system on their terms, to a degree.’

Jackson said providing data and evidence-based analyses of the savings that spending on decent housing would make could present a convincing case to the health and social care sectors.

‘But the last thing I’d say is can you please have some patience,’ she concluded. ‘This health and care system is still settling down. Approaching at the right time is really crucial to get the message heard.’