‘It’s shameful!’: Nick Ferrari caller condemns lack of social housing funding for 'desperate' Brits

24 November 2022, 12:19

The UK's funding system for council housing is 'shameful' says this caller

“People are utterly desperate when it comes to housing for vulnerable people”, says this council and community worker who believes the housing system was better when run by the local authority in Mid Sussex.

A caller to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC has branded the lack of funding for social homes “shameful.”

Anne in Burgess Hill, a council and community worker told Nick: “I’m passionate about housing, I’ve been involved in housing for 40 years.”

She added: “The housing was most effective when it was run - certainly here in Mid Sussex by our local authority and that's where the funding needs to go back to.”

The council worker said: “Local authorities need to have the housing grants and budgets to provide the homes they need for the people in their areas.”

Anne also explained that many of the homes for older people have been closed by the local housing association, and wardens taken away.

She added that many homes are damp - a concern that has been raised several times here by other guests and callers on LBC.

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Anne continued: “People are utterly desperate when it comes to housing for vulnerable people. It’s not working and the Right to Buy shared ownership which has given a lot of money to developers, that money would have built more for people who desperately need it.

“It’s shameful!” she declared.

“You say it would have built more homes”, Nick responded.

“My understanding is there is considerable opposition, and I have to say in places such as the Home Counties like Sussex and Kent and Essex and places like that, because people don't want these developments. Isn't that also the reality?” he countered.

Anne replied: “My passion has been we’re going to have to take the housing so let’s plan it.”

She explained: “It’ll be nearly 5000 houses around Burgess Hill. We've taken 2000 in the last three or four years, we’re taking another 3500 overlooked by Homes England who brought all the developers together.”

The call generated a discussion on Twitter about the state of social housing in the UK.