Alongside The Shared Health Foundation, Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, discussed the state of social and council housing in England. The SHF estimates that at least 74 children have died from 2019-2024 with, temporary housing being listed as a contributing cause.
In England, when a family is first declared homeless, they are given emergency housing for up to 2 weeks. This accommodation could be in a hotel or a shelter, for example. They will then be moved to temporary housing until a council house is allocated to them. Families can wait in temporary accommodation, often moving multiple times from place to place, for up to 5 years.
Amos called this “a disgrace to a civilisation”, and blamed it on the Conservatives’ “great sell off of council houses”. He argued that councils should be able to have more control over housing planning, in order to tackle local housing problems. He also proposed getting rid of The Right to Buy scheme, where eligible council house tenants can buy their house after 3 years.
When questioned on how getting rid of The Right to Buy scheme would not hinder his overall plans to “get more people on the housing ladder”, Amos clarified that he would end Right to Buy but promote Right to Own (also known as Right to Acquire). This scheme would allow tenants to buy social housing from Housing Associations, as opposed to council houses.
Speaking to Jackie Pearcey, the former candidate for the recent Gorton and Denton By-Election, the issue with social housing tenancies was exemplified even further. She described how affordable housing in Manchester is snapped up by London-based landlords in “private speculations”. In Manchester, “housing is affordable, but it is unavailable”.
This is a trend seen across the country, with landlords in the South East buying properties in the West and North of England. It has “completely distorted the housing market”, Jackie admitted.
Other local councillors and campaigners described how there are “people sleeping in multi-story car parks” and how “multiple families live under one roof” in their constituencies. Teachers complained about children’s education and well-being being impacted by moving from one temporary house to the next. “Half my class would leave every six months,” one recounted.
Throughout all these stories, one thing was clear. Our country has reached a breaking point. It’s time for housing to actually be addressed.