latest news from Building Research Housing Group

21/2/2007

Future of Housing Policy - Speech by Ruth Kelly to the Fabian Society

On 13 February 2007, Ruth Kelly set out the issues that would be likely to determine future Government policy on housing and encouraged debate on the establishment of a housing policy that is right for individuals, communities, the environment and the economy. 

In her speech Ruth Kelly presented the government's achievements since 1997 and set out four long-term policy challenges:

1 Providing more homes in well-planned communities 

2 Achieving greener homes

3 Ensuring that homes are affordable

4 Making socal housing more responsive to individual needs

While stressing the complexity of these challenges and accepting that these were not the only issues, Ruth Kelly appealed for a strong and informed debate to reform housing policy and for the people most affected to be at the heart of change. If you would like to read Ruth Kelly's speech, click on the following link. http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1506234 

Her speech preceded a major review of social housing commissioned by DCLG and carried out by John Hills of the London School of Economics and published on 20 February   http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2007/JohnHillsSocialHousingReport.htm