Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Regional Social Strategy – the strategy to achieve social inclusion throughout the East of England
The majority (74%) of households in the region live in owner-occupied accommodation, 16% in social rented
and 10% in private rented (Housing Statistics, Table 109, Communities and Local Government – CLG –
website, www.communities.gov.uk).
Social housing
Recent research (The Demand for Social Rented Housing, CLG, 2007) shows that nationally three main
groups are likely to be in social housing:
• households for whom the sector is a permanent, long-term secure tenure for life. These households are
generally more disadvantaged in terms of income, health and disability, with lower participation in the
labour market than those who are more transitory
• households for whom social renting is a relatively temporary or transitional tenure
• those who enter the sector at a later stage in their life, often for the first time.
The research shows clear concentrations of poverty and exclusion in the social rented sector, with those
with other housing opportunities likely to choose the private sector.
Nationally, greater numbers of ethnic minority groups are moving into social housing but the proportionate
rise is more the extent to which white households are leaving the sector. In the East of England, BME
groups account for 5% of the population but Black households are twice as likely to be in Council or other
social rented accommodation than Asian households (24%, compared with 12% for Asian households)
(Study into the Housing Needs of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the East of England, Centre
for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University, 2006).
Affordable homes
The region needs 11,000 new, affordable homes per year (Affordable Housing Studies, Cambridge Centre for
Housing and Planning Research, Part 1 [2003] and Part 2 [2004]) but in 2005/06 produced less than half that
number at 4,042 (Annual Monitoring Report 2005/6, EERA, 2007).
The acute housing stress is manifest in increased housing waiting lists and problems of affordability. On
1 April 2006 a total of 135,444 households were registered on local authority housing waiting lists in the region
compared to 129,184 in 2005 (Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix Data, CLG, 2006). The average house
price in the region in the first quarter of 2001 was £114,300 compared to £201,000 in 2006, a 76% increase
(Annual Monitoring Report 2005/6, EERA, 2007). The lower quartile price threshold (the price threshold below
which 25% of all sales occurred) doubled from £65,000 to £130,000 during the same period. The multiple of
lower quartile earnings required to purchase a lower quartile home is on average 7.5, rising to 10 in the most
expensive parts of the region.
Effects of overcrowding
There is a body of evidence (The Impact of Overcrowding on Health and Education: a review of the evidence
and literature, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – ODPM, 2004) that suggests a relationship between
overcrowding and health, including long-term effects. For example, overcrowding in childhood can have an
impact on aspects of adult health and therefore potentially affect an individual’s life chances and opportunities
in the future. The estimated number of households living in overcrowded accommodation in the region using
the most recent data (2002-05) was 31,000; the estimated number of children living in overcrowded
accommodation was 63,0000 (Hansard written answers, 18 April 2006).
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