The new £1.57bn social housing construction programme announced by prime minister Gordon Brown must not be at the expense of refurbishing social housing stock, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned.
“We desperately need more affordable homes but taking money from existing refurbishment schemes is merely robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Brian Berry, FMB director of external affairs.
“The maintenance of our existing 3.8 million social homes is fundamental if we are not to repeat the mistakes of the past and allow social housing to fall into disrepair with all the social problems that come about as a result,” said Mr Berry.
He said a simple and more cost effective solution to tackle the refubishment issue was to cut VAT from 15% to 5% for all repair and maintenance work, which he said would help bring the 700,000 empty homes in England back into use.
“It’s a shame the government concentrates on the talk about the delivery of better homes rather than introducing a simple practical measure to actually deliver its aim.”
