The recent White Paper on Public health acknowledges that improvements in public health have been made possible through “rising standards of living, improved education, better nutrition and better housing for many”.

Unfortunately, however, this is the only mention of housing in the entire document – hardly an endorsement of the housing lobby’s efforts to raise awareness about how poor housing affects the nation’s health. The role of quality housing in improving public health has been ignored by this government and an opportunity to create a joined-up approach to improving public health has been lost.

The white paper assumes that health is now a matter of choice. This condemns those who have little or no choice but to live in overcrowded, unaffordable and insecure housing – just because they are unable to compete in an inflated housing market – to a far less healthy existence than that enjoyed by people living in better conditions.

For people who live in poor housing, health is not a matter of choice and their children, growing up in those conditions, will experience disadvantage, in both health and educational terms, that will affect them for their rest of their lives.

We currently have record numbers of homeless families living in temporary accommodation. It is time the government took some coordinated action to provide lasting solutions for them that would contribute to really improving public health.

Patrick Odling-Smee, head of housing North Hertfordshire council

Source

Housing Today