The Spending Review

Today's the day when the cuts are announced. The Comprehensive Spending Review will set out in detail the budgets that each department will have to spend. The rumours are that the budget for new social housing building will be cut by a massive 50 percent. This is bad news. There is generally a shortage of housing in this country - mainly due to the increase in new household formation, people living alone, people living longer etc. - but there is an even more accute shortage of affordable housing. The millions of people on housing waiting lists will face even longer queues, and some will never get to the end, enduring unsuitable living conditions for years. There is a clear link - which has been well established since the nineteeth century - that good quality housing is necessary for good health. In addition, research as also shown that poor housing conditions can lead to low education attainment and increased crime levels. There is a government role for ensuring the population is adequately housed. The private sector housing market has shown a distinct lack of ability to provide affordable housing for everyone, and I think that it is one of the measures of a civilized society that people have a decent home to live in. If some of these homes have to be provided by a state subsidy (which is much lower than in the past), then we should be prepared to pay. Clearly we are in unique economic times, but to effectively lay the blame at the most vulnerable - people living in overcrowded conditions, perhaps in homes that they are unable to maintain due to age or infirmity, or the homeless, seems to me to be wrong.