Construction union UCATT have warned that Conservative plans for increasing affordable housing lack cohesion and could worsen the housing crisis.

Yesterday, Tuesday 2nd October, David Cameron the Prime Minister announced that he intended to boost Right-to-Buy and that the money generated would be used to build 200,000 new homes for rent.

Mr Cameron indicated that the discounts available for housing tenants who wish to purchase their own homes through Right-to-Buy would be increased. By increasing discounts the money available to build new homes will be significantly reduced.

While existing tenants who are able to buy their homes currently pay a social rent significantly below market rents, tenants of any new properties built will have to pay rents set at 80% of local market rates. High rent levels will force may families onto benefits and increase problems of ghettoisation.

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As part the Comprehensive Spending Review Government funding of new social housing is being cut by 70% by 2015. Even if money was generated through Right-to-Buy the existing cuts mean that the supply of new social homes will fall, making it likely that the housing waiting lists which already has 1.7 million people on it will increase.

The Government's proposals have also been significantly undermined after it was revealed that their plans to streamline the National Planning Policy Framework, will delete rules on Section 106 agreements which require developers to build a proportion of affordable homes on all developments with 15 or more properties.

The new framework will also abandon stipulations on councils to set targets of how many affordable properties they intend to build in their area and what proportion of affordable homes should be built on larger sites.

It is estimated that at least half of the 50,000 affordable homes built every year are as a result of section 106 agreements. Most councils no longer have significant amounts of land which they could make available for new social housing developments, making section 106 agreements one of the few options to build social housing.

(CD/GK)