19 July 2002
John Perry, the CIH's director of policy, said the lion's share of the growth would take place next year, when spending (after inflation) will rise from £4.8bn to £5.3bn. During the final two years covered by the review, it will be stuck at £5.5bn at current prices. 'The real-term increases for 2004/05 and 2005/06 are only 1.5% on average,' he said. 'If you look at new money, the increases beyond next year are pretty disappointing.'
When inflation is included, spending on housing is set to rise by £1.1bn to £5.9bn over the next three years. Further details were due to be announced by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on July 18. The CIH, Local Government Association, and National Housing Federation had argued that spending should rise by £1.2bn a year to provide about 20,000 new homes annually.
Jonathan Ellis, chief executive of the Empty Homes Agency, said the government appeared to recognise problems of low demand in areas where the housing market had collapsed: 'The announced spending is not nearly as high as we and others had hoped for, but we do need to see more clearly how this money will be allocated.'
PFjul2002
