We’re backing the National Housing Federation’s long-term plan for housing
Ahead of the local and regional elections being held across large parts of England on Thursday 2 May and the General Election due to be held later this year, we are supporting the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) long-term plan for housing and joining the call for political parties to act.
Last year (2022/23), for every new social home built in England, six households were accepted as homeless by their local council[i], while more children than ever before are living in temporary accommodation[ii]. This shameful trend is also putting local councils under increasing financial pressure with councils spending £1.74bn to support households in temporary accommodation in 2022/23[iii]. This is only set to worsen, with recent research revealing that the number of children living in temporary accommodation is estimated to reach 150,000 by 2030[iv].
The NHF, the trade association who represent member housing providers in England including GSA, are calling for a long-term plan to address the housing crisis.
By 2035, the NHF’s plan for housing would seek to:
- Fix child homelessness
- Halve overcrowding
- Provide the security of a social home for one million more people
- Ensure a warm and decent home for seven million more families
- Improve affordability and boost productivity by ensuring every region has the homes it needs to grow.
Ruth Cooke, our Chief Executive and NHF Board member said: “Even though at GSA we are proud to play our part in addressing the chronic shortage of affordable and social housing in the West Midlands and the South West, it is clear that the challenge is huge.
“The widening gap between the demand for social housing and the availability is the result of decades of underfunding and underinvestment in affordable homes by successive governments, which in turn has led to a chronic shortage of social housing and contributed to the housing crisis we’re in today.
“But this is a crisis that can be solved. Housing associations are ambitious to do more to tackle this crisis, but it will take a long-term commitment from local and national governments to address. This is why we are backing the NHF’s long term plan to end the housing crisis for good.”
As Local Government and Metro Mayor elections draw ever closer, access to affordable housing has become increasingly important among voters, with over half of Brits saying that the government should prioritise building social housing[v].
Find out more about NHF’s long-term plan for housing here
[i] National Housing Federation - New homeless households outnumber new social homes by six to one
[ii] DLUHC, Statutory Homelessness Statistics, July-September 2023
[iv] National Housing Federation - Nearly five million households will live in unaffordable homes by 2030
