Dr Stephen Battersby, an environmental health and housing consultant (retired), writes that environmental health officers have long known that homes contain threats to health and safety, from excess heat or cold to damp and mould. For many years, a lack of resources and political will has hindered action on the scale needed.
Lessons from the 1970s
Battersby agrees that a new approach is required, but says we can also learn from the 1970s, when local authorities took the lead on collective action to improve housing. He argues that councils should be the focus for getting things moving, which will require funding to help homeowners and ensure councils have sufficient staff with the right skills.
Funding history
After the 1981 English House Condition Survey revealed a high rate of disrepair, the government introduced generous repair grants and contributed £1bn through subsidies. The decision to discontinue funding for the private sector housing renewal programme, which had been reduced to £376m in 2009-10, was a result of austerity.
Battersby suggests that Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner need to revisit the past to learn what can be done.
