Lack of social housing is still a Tory problem

In reply to the letter from the Conservative Association (Viewpoint, September 11), I would like to point out that the AkzoNobel development is a private development not a council development.

Slough council has been successful in getting affordable housing and social housing elements into private developments.

But the Tory phrase ‘affordable’ is a bit unfortunate. I would ask affordable to whom?

Most Slough residents cannot afford to buy family homes in Slough now, unless they get help from the bank of mum and dad, so many will be commuters from London!

However, the Slough Conservative letter misses the point that the biggest problem is the shortage of social housing and this is a Tory problem!

In the 1980s, the Tory government brought in the right to buy.

Since then two million council houses have been sold off which has presented a big problem.

Two thirds of the money went to the government but the rest could not be used to build council houses.

Slough now has a long waiting list for council homes.

In recent years, Slough has been building council houses but it is not easy.

Then we hit another problem.

If someone falls on hard times and needs the state to help, housing benefit is capped at a level below the market level for private rents.

Currently there is a hold on evictions of private tenants but this will end soon.

There will probably be a wave of evictions unless Boris Johnson acts to address the problem.

In 2019 the Labour manifesto proposed building 100,000 social homes a year.

The Tory manifesto was silent on this.

Time for another Tory government U-turn to actually succeed in doing something about this massive problem?

Cllr ZAFFAR AJAIB Lab, Langley St Mary’s Slough Borough Council