The Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation issued a simple and clear message to the Government: 'We can't house our children.'
David Orr was speaking at the 23rd Chartered Institute of Housing South West Conference in Torquay, where he used his key note speech to address issues including building sustainable communities, the shortage of rural housing and the impact of social housing on the environment.
His words echoed the CIH SW Manifesto entitled Will Your Children be Homeless in 2010? - a document that puts forward solutions to four key housing issues in the South West area, being affordability, lack of investment, the ageing population and planning issues.
David Orr pointed out all these problems are "now affecting middle England, the territory where political battles are won or lost." He added: "We can't house our children: it is important that we say to the Government and the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard), this is unsustainable."
Mr Orr also called for "more investment in the rural economy to stop pockets of deprivation, create affordable housing for key workers and to prevent a theme park rural England."
He stressed the need to create sustainable communities in both rural and urban areas and the important role social housing has to play. He reminded his audience that tenants in social housing are not failures. They leave the smallest carbon footprint in society, playing a positive role in creating a sustainable environment.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper and the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced the winning bids for a £30 million programme to help families move from temporary accommodation into long-term settled homes.
The winning Settled Homes Initiative was one of 20 bids for the funding. It will enable schemes in Bromley, Hackney, Westminster, Brent, Ealing and West London to purchase around 900 homes and convert them over time into quality settled social housing.
This innovative approach uses Housing Benefit to help buy homes for families who would otherwise be in insecure and very expensive private sector accommodation, with no certainty about how long they could live there.
Bids were assessed against the following criteria:
This announcement builds on the range of existing and emerging 'temporary to settled' housing schemes in the capital, providing stable homes for families that are converted into social rent housing over the long-term.
Recent reductions in homelessness figures in Wales are welcome, but hidden homelessness and a lack of affordable housing are serious concerns, according to a new audit report.
The National Assembly's Audit Committee published its report on the Welsh Assembly Government's national homelessness strategy. It concludes that this strategy, which aims to strengthen the focus of homelessness services on prevention, support, and access to housing, has had some success, but more needs to be done.
The Committee believes the real numbers of homeless people are higher than statistics suggest, because not everyone who is homeless approaches their local council for help. There is also concern that some councils may interpret definitions of homelessness too narrowly. The report recommends that the Assembly Government issues clear guidance on how homelessness legislation should be interpreted.
The Committee also believes that some temporary accommodation may not be of a high enough standard, and recommends an inspection of all such accommodation.
Janet Davies AM, Chair of Audit Committee, said:
"We believe that housing shortages are a serious problem. It is positive that more use is being made of social housing and the private sector to house homeless people. However, the downside of this trend is the pressure it places on the availability of social housing for those people who need a secure home... reducing the amount of accommodation available for those who are not considered statutorily homeless and therefore increasing the risk that more families may become homeless in the future."