The Government cannot afford to push housing any further down its list of priorities, argues RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) which states in its final submission to the Barker Review on housing that a minimum of 250 000 new homes must be built every year for the next ten years if a crisis is to avoided.

Louis Armstrong, chief executive, RICS, says: “With the focus of the two major political parties likely to be firmly set on who will spend most on health and education, the danger is that housing will be the big loser.

”Poor housing conditions impact hugely on health and education so to sacrifice housing in order to boost health and education would be to shoot ourselves in the foot.

”Over the next ten years the UK will be one of the only European Union countries to see a population increase. Demographic and social trends such an ageing population and an increase in marital break-ups are creating a growing number of households which must be accommodated.

”Against this background the provision of 250 000 new homes each year is the absolute minimum needed. Even so, this will mean that in ten years time we will have done little more than stand still. Little impression will have been made on the backlog of housing need.”

Some of the more innovative ideas being suggested by RICS include an increase in the level of Government incentive for employers who are willing to provide housing for their workers and encouragement of local authorities to maximise the residential potential of unused and under-used commercial and industrial property.

The provision of 250 000 homes a year would represent a massive 33% increase in the existing rate of housing provision –currently estimated to be a mere 185 000 housing units per year.

RICS continues to voice its concern over the massive drop in the level of social and affordable housing which is one-fifth of what it was 20 years ago (see graph below).
In August last year, Louis Armstrong said that a housing underclass was being created and its numbers were swelling to include people who traditionally would have been able to purchase their own home.

RICS believes the following actions need to be taken:

• Local authorities must be given greater incentives to meet their housing provision targets, something they have consistently failed to do in the past
• The infrastructure necessary to support the creation of new communities must be provided
• Muh greater emphasis must be given to providing housing at higher densities, something which can be achieved without any loss of quality
• Large-scale land assembly must take place, using compulsory purchase powers where necessary and drawing on the resources of English Partnerships and other agencies

The Barker Review is likely to be published on Budget Day, March 17 2004.