Ruth Cadbury: Tories ignore the need for social housing and switch money from the poor to the rich

The term “housing crisis” is so well used in London that you cannot ignore it, yet we have a Government whose legislative agenda completely ignores the problem, and for the last eight years a Mayor who has made the situation worse.

The problem is critical to the ability of London to function as a city. It doesn’t just affect those who live or want to live in London, it dramatically affects the public services on which we all depend, and the businesses who make our economy tick.

I’ve been watching Channel 4’s How to Get a Council House filmed in my borough which shows the poignant stories of those in Hounslow living on low pay struggling to get, or to keep, a roof over their heads for them and their children. Cleaners, chefs, baggage handlers and care workers, many of whom are on variable-hours contracts are just some of the many who are affected by the multiple-whammy of rising private sector rents, the end of new social rented housing, rising caps on housing benefit and stricter definitions of homelessness. Being offered rehousing in Birmingham is not much help if your job or support networks are in West London.

For those higher up the income ladder, who are no eligible for Council help are too often leaving London or not even applying for work here due to the desperate housing situation.

Fullers brewery is just one of many employers in my constituency that have told me how the affordability of suitable housing is impacting on their ability to recruit and retain staff. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been raising the issue with Government and the GLA since at least 2014 and so have other business organisations. A very few wealthy financial services companies are even considering developing their own staff accommodation.

But it’s our public services, from health and education, local Government to the blue-light services that are really affected. I’ve been told repeatedly by head teachers, Council Chief officers and CEOs of our healthcare trusts that they are unable to recruit key career grade professionals to vacant posts. Too often good staff are leaving for other parts of the UK or overseas where their skills are valued but the cost and quality of life is better. In nursing there are significant vacancies on specialist nursing courses, and the Band 5 (newly qualified) salary level is too low to be able to afford to rent, let alone buy, in London.

As an example – a primary deputy head would be paying over 50% of their monthly salary in rent if renting a 2-bed flat in my constituency, a 1-bed flat is just about affordable. A CAMHS youth support officer on £31,000 could just about afford a room in a flat share.

The NHS as employers are finding it virtually impossible to recruit district, practice or paediatric nurses. And while the starting salary for a police officer is slightly higher, our acting borough commander says he doesn’t have a problem now, but does anticipate one starting next year.

Private sector prices to rent and to buy are rising faster than the wages of many, the supply of intermediate housing such as shared ownership is drying up, and sales of council homes have soared since the Coalition government increased the discount to tenants to over £100,000.

Whilst Labour local authorities in London have done their best to deliver both social-rented and intermediate key-worker housing, the net loss of affordable homes, these new homes are feeling like a drop in the ocean against the rising tide of need.

The Government’s solution is to further shift subsidy from the have-nots to the haves with expensive subsidies to homeownership in the form of tax reliefs, discounts on right to buy, and now direct subsidy for starter homes which will only reinforce prices.

Building social housing needs investment up front, but in the long run it pays for itself and of course, reduces the housing benefit bill which goes straight to the pockets of private landlords. Perhaps one of the biggest failings of our Labour government was not to be more ambitious on delivering social rented housing.

Ruth Cadbury is MP for Brentford and Isleworth