Housing should be government focus in recession
18 August 2009
Provisions for social housing should be a priority for local councils during the economic downturn.
This is the opinion of Gavin Hayes, general secretary of left wing pressure group Compass, who was speaking after the Audit Commission reported that the local and national government''s initial response to the recession has been positive.
Mr Hayes noted that there is "a mixed picture" and that there are some individuals that "are better equipped than others".
"One key area is in terms of housing. Councils should be looking at how they can build more social housing and ensure [they] are doing everything in their power to meet the government''s target of 200,000 homes a year," he added.
Mr Hayes also went on to note that local councils should ensure that they are running at a high level of efficiency.
Recent statistics released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that there has been a fall in the amount of homes repossessed in Britain during the second quarter of 2009, when compared with the first three months of the year.
However, the figure is still elevated by 14 per cent year-on-year.
By Christian James.
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