What targets are there for housing?

The best known is probably the Decent Homes target, set in 1998. This demanded that all affordable housing should be brought up to a “decent” standard by 2010 (a separate target for private housing was set in 2002). Homes are to be fitted with new roofs, double glazing, central heating, and new kitchens and bathrooms.

Another target was that 60% of all new homes should be built on brownfield land. And in the 2002 Spending Review the government introduced the broader housebuilding target: to deliver a better balance between housing supply and demand.

What’s the verdict on its Decent Homes target?

Between 1998 and 2004 1 million council-owned homes have been improved and 1.1 million homes have yet to be remedied, so the target could in theory be hit. But there are concerns: changes to the definition of housing fitness have caused more homes to be classed as non-decent, upgrading of private housing is falling behind, and the value of putting new kitchens and bathrooms into some housing stock is being questioned. In some areas, the condition, unpopularity and age of the housing would make it more sensible to demolish than refurbish, points out a report of the Social Market Foundation Commission on the use of targets, published last month.

What does the Social Market Foundation Commission have to say about the brownfield target?

It basically says that it was too easy. It draws that conclusion because 64% of housing was built on brownfield land two years after the target was set, although the target had an eight-year deadline.

And the government’s progress on balancing supply and demand?

This is a complex target, and it is accompanied by a whole series of sub-targets covering everything from environmental and property market issues to regional planning guidance. The Social Market Foundation’s report, which is supported by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, concludes that this target needs to be thoroughly reviewed because it is a “nebulous collection of performance indicators and subordinate targets”. Instead, the targets should be reduced to one or two clear measurable outcomes.

Source

RegenerateLive