Don't Cut Housing in the Spending Review

A letter to The Guardian today (15 October) signed by Boris Johnson (Mayor of London), David Orr (Chief executive, National Housing Federation), Campbell Robb Chief executive, Shelter, Sarah Webb Chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing says;

“We welcome George Osborne's recognition of housing as a frontline service. It is now crucial that the comprehensive spending review translates this recognition into the delivery of high-quality, good-value, affordable housing. Every £1 invested in housing saves the public purse double elsewhere. The impact of poor housing on health and education of families will mean those improvements are undermined without supporting the delivery of new homes.
Housing is crucial to sustaining the economic recovery, providing much-needed jobs in both construction and the wider supply chain. But as the IMF has highlighted, our housing market remains fragile. Continued investment into new housing is therefore vital to bolster confidence, ensure we have quality homes to match existing infrastructure improvements and, above all, tackle the affordability crisis. Delivering more affordable housing will not only help families make homes in our neighbourhoods, but it will also reduce the reliance on expensive, often substandard private rented temporary accommodation, which has pushed housing benefit bills to £20bn a year.
We have consistently argued that we need greater freedom from the Treasury to make public funding go further, unlock private investment and realise the value of existing assets. Nonetheless, the opportunity this presents will succeed only if underpinned by sufficient government investment into housing and regeneration.”