More Houses Please and Jobs!

A newly formed campaign group has urged the Government to kick-start the economy by investing £6.3 billion into a scheme aimed at building more than 100,000 affordable homes over the next two years.

The 2020 Group, which comprises of an alliance of housing organisations, unions and local authoritiesc wants 100,000 units of social housing built over the next two years. 2020 Group said the credit crunch has meant a collapse in house prices and lending, a severe drop in housing building and an estimated 450,000 job losses in the construction industry between 2008 and 2010.

Leading economist Kate Barker, who chairs the group, said "Support for housing today offers excellent value in terms of sustaining economic activity, and reduces the risk of a very severe loss of capacity in the housing and related industries. There is real concern that the present fall in home building is sowing the seeds of the next boom. Social housing waiting lists are rising. This package meets a real and urgent need."

Ms Barker, who sits on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, is a member of the 2020 Group alongside the National Housing Federation (NHF), housing charity Shelter, the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The 2020 Group says its recommendations would:

• Save 30,000 jobs in the industry, as well as thousands which support the industry, including in building materials, furniture and white goods
• Preserve construction jobs and apprenticeships which would help prevent a loss of key skills
• Enable house builders to continue to invest in housing supply and reduce the risk of a housing supply shortage once the economy recovers
• Improve cash-flow and reduce risk for developers and suppliers currently experiencing severe financial pressure
• Increase labour market mobility by providing more affordable and social housing.