Memorandum-to-the-Prime-Minister-on-Unaffordable-Housing

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and tenure choice in ‘growth regions’. Privatisation at key stages of <strong>the</strong> housing delivery chain reduces costeffectiveness and produces inefficiencies (Appendices 8 and 9). Recommendation 6 The tenure pattern of housing development in growth regions such as <strong>the</strong> South East should be balanced and not dominated by speculative owner-occupied housing; <strong>the</strong> hoarding of land ei<strong>the</strong>r before or after <strong>the</strong> receipt of planning permission by developers and specula<strong>to</strong>rs should be discouraged by an annual tax on <strong>the</strong> value of such land until it is developed.We recommend that <strong>the</strong> government undertakes and publishes a feasibility study in<strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> implementation of a Land Value Tax on all land. 7. Present land supply and planning arrangements are failing <strong>to</strong> facilitate sufficient development, especially of low cost housing, and <strong>the</strong>y permit land speculation; this produces delays and siphons off investment which should be directed at improving construction technologies and efficiency (Appendices 9 and 16). Recommendation 7 Local authorities should be better supported and resourced <strong>to</strong> use compulsory purchase powers <strong>to</strong> acquire sites before development consent is granted and <strong>the</strong>re should be a stronger programme of support for Community Land Trusts and Community Land Partnerships <strong>to</strong> capture land value increases arising from development, retain freeholds for future community use and operate as locally responsive developers. 8.There is an almost complete lack of information on <strong>the</strong> nature and size of <strong>the</strong> evident public costs, especially <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> NHS, generated by poor and unaffordable housing and overcrowding; this information is a pre-requisite for making cost-effective decisions about <strong>the</strong> level of housing investment (Appendices 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14). Recommendation 8 Government sponsored research programmes should be initiated <strong>to</strong> assess <strong>the</strong> costs <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> taxpayer generated by poor and unaffordable housing in <strong>the</strong> following areas: i. health, education and o<strong>the</strong>r welfare outcomes ii. private pension provision iii. economic development and labour mobility 9. Current legal forms and institutional practices are not sufficiently flexible <strong>to</strong> facilitate <strong>the</strong> production of more affordable housing <strong>to</strong> meet <strong>the</strong> size of demand quickly enough (Appendices 15 and 16). Recommendation 9 Innovative legal forms, financing mechanisms and modes of development and equity holding should be vigorously promoted as a means of producing more low cost housing at a faster rate 10. Conventional forms of development and construction take <strong>to</strong>o little account of carbon emission levels and add <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> difficulties of reaching <strong>the</strong> Kyo<strong>to</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col emission targets (Appendix 17). Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - <strong>Memorandum</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prime</strong> <strong>Minister</strong> - May 2005 11
Recommendation 10 Increased resources should be put in<strong>to</strong> developing and evaluating carbon-neutral forms of construction and development and in<strong>to</strong> encouraging patterns of land use that reduce movement, food miles and energy consumption 11. Current levels of unaffordability bear down most heavily on those least able <strong>to</strong> cope; <strong>the</strong>y are ethically indefensible (Appendix 18). 12 Recommendation 11 Statu<strong>to</strong>ry minimum incomes are under pressure from ever rising housing costs.The oppressive nature of <strong>the</strong> present housing regime leads <strong>to</strong> stress and ill health for many households receiving incomes below government and independently determined poverty thresholds.This injustice should be more fully recognised and taken in<strong>to</strong> account in policy related <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> provision of adequate minimum incomes, both in and out of work Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - <strong>Memorandum</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Prime</strong> <strong>Minister</strong> - May 2005
Page 1 and 2: Z2K ZACCHAEUS 2000 MEMORANDUM <stro
Page 3 and 4: 2 First published in Britain in 200
Page 5 and 6: Introduction The Prime</str
Page 7 and 8: 6 Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - Me
Page 9 and 10: 8 Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - Me
Page 11: Recommendation 2 Policy should buil
Page 15 and 16: The shaded boxes along the<
Page 17 and 18: RSLs have no direct electo<
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Page 27 and 28: (a) producing units of a quality su
Page 29 and 30: 28 Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - M
Page 31 and 32: Fund they stress t
Page 33 and 34: homeless by local authorities (itse
Page 37 and 38: compared to 46% in
Page 39 and 40: approximately threefold rise in rea
Page 43 and 44: End of 1998 28,700 End of 2000 120,
Page 45 and 46: ‘...stock transf
Page 49 and 50: shown in Figure 3. (£ billions) 25
Page 51 and 52: Housing Association 3 Private Landl
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62 Zacchaeus 2000 Trust - M
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more prone to asth
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to a Parliamentary
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A sclerotic market Young people fac
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enters with no housing assets seems
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Europe, and that the</stron
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76 reason for not joining a strike.
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is regarded as an essential step al
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provisions based upon partnership l
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Members could decide to</st
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The size of land value gains The ga
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For this reason, economists from Ad
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In the United Stat
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decline in Federal support for hous
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from stamp duty and council tax (Ll
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upward wage pressure and fewer recr
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So is there a way
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7. A show flat already exists <stro
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healthy living. Poverty happens und
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‘When was it that we saw you hung
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StanislasYassukovich, quoted earlie
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Bowley, M. (1945) Housing and <stro
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Phibbs, P. and Young, P. (2005) Hou
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Memorandum-to-the-Prime-Minister-on-Unaffordable-Housing

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