London is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. Camden council is concerned about the implications of the Housing and Planning Bill that is likely to make it worse. This housing bill, concludes this report, could drastically reduce genuinely affordable homes and the ability to build more, drive up rents, and damage London’s economy. Kath Scanlon, Christine Whitehead, Ann Edge, and Paroj Banerjee contributed to the report for Camden Council.
An excerpt from the Executive Summary:
Key Findings
- The expected reduction in the amount of social housing in inner London due to the Housing and Planning Bill will affect local infrastructure and employers.
- Personal care (childcare and care of vulnerable adults) is vital to healthy communities, and relies on a pool of low cost, locally based labour. Some 16% of employed inner-London social tenants work in health and social care. The need for such services in boroughs like Camden is growing, not declining, and providers are already losing workers because of London’s housing costs.
Recommendations
- Many organisations already recognise the bene ts of employing local people in entry-level jobs because they are often willing to work exible or irregular hours, they can respond quickly if there is an emergency and their commuting costs are low. Central London employers should consider the value of having local workers in certain roles, and recruit accordingly.
- We need to better understand the interaction between accommodation and employment. Further research is needed into the links between low-cost housing and employment in London before these policies are rolled out.
The full report can be downloaded here from our archives.
