Maidstone Weald Labour Party

Dear Editor,

Thank you Liz Davies for the brief study of the housing crisis on August
21 - may I try to comment too but in around 300 words?.

Yes, some tenants have been reluctant to switch from Council to RSLs
but that has not in any way hindered the onward thrust of Government
policy in this regard and the Green Paper of July 2007 does not set out
any significant change; the financial arrangements for those
diminishing numbers of Councils that remain as landlords will do much
to influence the decision they take to transfer and Government may chose
to continue just to wait and concentrate mainly on those who do agree.
There are however, in my view, two really outstanding aspects to the
Crisis : firstly the elevated price of private houses (70% of the
population inhabit those), and : the shortage of houses to rent
(including social houses, and 1.6 million await those.). Some other
problems such as rough sleepers and non-decent council houses, have
diminished in the last 10 years.

In respect of the monstrous price-escalation, the government failure to
take any steps to limit it, fiscal or otherwise, (but allows the Market
interest rates to exacerbate it) is a great crime, the effects of that,
with increasing interest and other charges, will remain with our
children for a generation. Already the numbers of repossessions
increase and the untold misery of trying to keep up high payments, as a
proportion of household expenditure, will take its toll in great
discomfort and privation for many years and adversely affect trade and
prosperity. Failure to build sufficiently for 30 years is now said by
this Government as a major cause of the present crisis. It is
reprehensible of the Government to tolerate the presence of vast numbers
on waiting lists (many in dire need by reason of overcrowding) and the
virtual absence of new lets, together with insufficient social housing
to rent and no rent control at a time of rental pressure, (for the
average let alone the minimum waged). Government seems to be unable to
understand what a crucial difference it would make to prices if the
240,000 p.a. new builds contemplated in the Green Paper (which hardly
equals projected new household growth) was nearer to the 420,000
actually achieved by a previous government which resulted in some
stability. The numbers of houses to be built up to 2020 now quoted in
the Green Paper while formidable in the millions is still insufficient
to break the back of the Crisis and the immediate proposal for 45-50,000
p.a. social homes will take over 30 years to clear the backlog alone.
Lets have a Fifth Option : at least 400,000 new houses p.a., with half
social homes, as built in 1967/8 during a Labour Government!

Sincerely, Leslie Turner,