The chronic shortage of social homes has not happened overnight. Over the past three decades, the Right to Buy has contributed to a major decline in the number of social housing properties, with many of these homes ending up in the private rented sector.

One hundred percent of all revenue from Right to Buy sales, after essential costs have been paid, should have been paid back, into new community housing. Why was this not done?

The policy has created a short- term gain for individual households but a long-term problem for the nation in terms of the supply of affordable homes. 

The current population of the UK is 68,560.862 as of Thursday, May 26^th, 2022, according to UN data.

More than 274,000 people including 126,000 children, according to research published by Shelter on 9^th of December 2021, do not have a place to call home.

The charity, Crisis, estimate that around 227,000 people were experiencing the worst form of homelessness rough sleeping, sleeping in vans and sheds, and stuck in B&Bs across England Scotland and Wales in 2021. In 2021/22 approximately 2.17million people used a food bank in the United Kingdom.

So, the Government of the 6^th largest national economy in the World cannot house or feed its population! This is a national scandal.

The problem with affordable homes for private rental is that no one can afford them.

Local Housing Allowance ( LHA) for private renters has been frozen at March 2020 levels while rents around the country have risen rapidly.

As a result of the freeze, housing benefit support is no longer linked to current rents.

This means the number of properties that private renters in receipt of universal credit can afford will steadily decline.

All the freeze is doing is exacerbating the already serious cost of living crisis.

The government has absolutely no idea just how modest most people’s incomes are, and they are very far removed from the housing shortage. They have no appreciation of the size of the demand problem largely being fuelled by uncontrolled immigration and a failing immigration system.

The UK Independence Party is proud of our nations long history of welcoming and protecting refugees and this must continue. However, we know that our housing problems cannot be solved without the Government calling a halt to large scale immigration.

Time for the Government to get their act together.

Patricia Mountain

UK Independence Party Spokeswoman for Housing