Let's talk about social housing

Government statistics show that when Right To Buy was introduced, it was hugely popular. In 1981/82, nearly 170,000 dwellings were sold. It went down in the following years, but sales increased once again when discounts were increased.

Whilst there has been the occasional increase since those days, sales have decreased dramatically overall. In 2017/18, local authorities across England sold less than 20,000 in total.

Provisional figures for the current year in the January-March Ministry of Housing report show possible total sales of 10,213.

Some might see that and think 'what social housing crisis?'. Well, the problem is that local authorities have not replaced all of the stock that they've sold in that time. There are some local authorities who don't have any of their own social houses. Changing demographics a personal finance levels have meant there are more people in need. This has led to a crisis.

In the manifestos, the Conservatives talk about house building, but also maintain their promotion of Right To Buy. There are no guarantees that social housing stock will increase, meaning that local authority issues will remain or get worse.

Labour is promising more houses - a lot more and many of them will be social housing. Just in their Yorkshire and Humber manifesto, they have promised 10,000 new homes each year by the end of the next parliament. A similar situation in each region could significantly reduce the crisis.

There are other things to consider though. Local authority staffing. With more houses to look after, councils need the funding available to recruit more staff to look after them. They need the tools to maintain them. There needs to be a look at how their planning teams will cope with the increased pressure on them. Also, do we have any idea where all these houses will go? How many will be suitable for the disabled? What impact will the bedroom tax have?

There are still a lot of questions that need answering - by all parties.

What do you all think about the housing problems in this country? Do you think councils will cope? Do you think the proposed numbers are realistic? Is housing a priority for any of you in this election?