MPs add pressure for Council Housing investment

A new report adds to the 'enormous' pressure on Government to allow investment in existing and new council housing.

Senior MPs and the Local Government Association have added their voices to the tenants and unions demanding investment in council housing to address the growing crisis.

The Supply of Rented Housing report of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee (21 May 08) says one-third of rented homes should be provided by councils, to meet demand:

’With such a significant shortage of homes, we believe that it is time to reconsider the restrictions on local authorities' ability to build. We pressed the then Housing Minister on this in oral evidence. In response, she told us "we do need to see councils building more homes and believe that councils should be able to build quite substantial numbers of additional homes."

Last week the Local Government Association reported 1.67 million on council waiting lists, and predicting 2 million households – 5 million people – will be waiting for a council home by 2010.

A new Defend Council Housing publication Dear Gordon 2 argues that Government will not meet the target of 3 million new homes without investment in existing and new council homes. Dear Gordon 2 argues that existing resources can fund a revival of council housing, if all council rents and receipts were ringfenced and reinvested, a level playing field allowed councils to access investment funding, and resources redirected from transfer subsidies.

Alan Walter, chair of DCH, says: ‘Without a third major council house building programme government has no chance of meeting housing need or the target of 3 million new homes. Meeting housing need now depends on government dropping its dogmatic opposition and invest in first class council housing.’