Government Urged To Tackle 205,000 Long-Term Empty Homes

A campaign is calling on government to end the “national scandal” of hundreds of thousands of empty homes. Most recent data shows there are more than 605,000 empty homes in England and 205,000 of those are long-term empty homes, many to be found in areas that have experienced under-investment for a generation. The national Coalition for Community Investment, led by Action on Empty Homes, is calling on the Government to invest in areas with high levels of empty homes, to help community-based programmes bring these back into use for those in housing need. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/government-urged-to-tackle-205000-long-term-empty-homes-in-england/

Fixing Homes Crisis Requires Additional 400,000 Builders

The building industry will have to recruit a worker every 77 seconds for the next four years to meet Britain’s housing needs. Under-investment in the workforce was highlighted as one of the major causes of the housing crisis, according to a report from consultants Arcadis. The group estimated that about 400,000 plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, quantity surveyors and other trades people will have to be taken on every year up to 2021. Arcadis group’s James Bryce warned the industry was facing a skills “gulf,” adding: “Systemic underinvestment in the nation’s workforce has contributed to a reduction in UK productivity. “ Read more on the Morning Star website.