Tenth UK minister in ten years needs to remember that housing is about people

The UK has its tenth housing minister in as many years and the previous one is being asked whether regulations were watertight regarding the refurbishment of tower blocks in the aftermath of the terrible fire in London.

Indeed, the fire at Grenfell Tower reminds us all that housing is about people and their homes. Yet, it seems to have become a political and financial issue and real people have been forgotten.

New Housing Minister Alok Sharma will have a lot in his in-tray with long standing issues, the Housing White Paper and now questions about housing safety all needing attention. He needs to take on board that building affordable homes needs to be a priority.

But, as the Housing White Paper suggested, the planning system needs to be reformed before the key strategies can be advanced.

Demand continues to greatly outstrip supply in our housing markets, pushing up prices despite a level of political and economic uncertainty that should be depressing the market far more than it is.

The housing market needs reform, it needs greater transparency and more appropriate regulations, as does building and construction, all going hand in hand. We might normally expect more information in the Queen’s Speech, but that has been delayed and next year’s one cancelled in order to allow Brexit talks to dominate the political agenda.

And here lies the crux of the matter. Brexit negotiations start this week and, as can be seen from the level of priority given to it by the fumbling current Government, housing is likely to fall down the agenda. Because the press is rightly questioning what has been happening with fire and safety regulations that led to Grenfell Tower’s questionable refurbishment, then these issues are also now on the agenda.

Publicity will demand that refurbishment and construction safety are addressed as a priority, and quite rightly too, but it means that other housing issues will be pushed to the back of the list. Short sightedness has been prevalent when it comes to housing policy for decades and nothing seems to have changed.

Now, if Sharma really wants to make a difference what he should be doing is make sure that housing does not drift away under a tide of Brexit priorities. He should be calling for a cross-party agreement and nonpartisan approach to determining housing policy to put homes on a more stable footing for the long term.

Now, more than ever, housing has to be a top priority for the nation, yet I fear that with a hung parliament, Brexit negotiations, rising inflation, members of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee leaning towards an interest rate rise, and a new man in the housing minister’s post, it could easily slip.

Sharma’s predecessor, Gavin Barwell, was praised for being proactive, for facing up to vested interest groups and for being determined to face the challenges in the sector.

Now there are even more challenges in the brief and sadly the future of housing in the UK depends on how long the current government will last, as well as the new housing minister.

It has been suggested that more details of what is planned for housing and how and where the million-plus new homes will be built as promised will come in the Autumn Budget, but that is too late, too late for ordinary people who deserve more than a house because they deserve a home, a safe place to live.