Review

Dwelling on good health

HEALTH, HOUSING AND SOCIAL POLICY: HOMES FOR HEALTH OR WEALTH
Lorna Arblaster and Murray Hawton
Socialist Health Association, 1993

Someone who ought really to have known better asked me some little time ago, ‘what has housing to do with health?’ I was flabbergasted and unable to respond momentarily. This superb little publication addresses virtually all the issues of housing and health right across the spectrum. The addresses the causal links between poor housing conditions and poor physical or mental health and the vexed and increasingly topical question of homelessness. So much is written and spoken these days about the comparison between the deserving and the undeserving, it is refreshing that Arblaster and Hawton make the point that ‘without housing even basic needs cannot be met’.

The current crisis in social housing is dealt with clearly and succinctly, identifying the shortcomings of central government housing policies during the last 15 years, detailing the consequences and recognising the changes in household formation, social awareness and the growing number of people who prefer to live alone.

Having identified the issues, problems and shortcomings, Arblaster and Hawton move on to make proposals for change, including a Housing Rights Act ‘establishing the right to secure, decent, affordable housing for all households including single person households irrespective of tenure’. They argue that housing should be available for all who desire it and propose a means of financing the improvements required including freeing up capital receipts from council house sales to enable capital starved local authorities to build new homes and improve existing stock. They also suggest — and this is not before time — that housing finance should be removed from Public Sector Borrowing Requirement calculations.

Finally the book looks at tax reforms and benefit changes and makes suggestions that have until recently been taboo for political parties in this country, namely replacing mortgage income tax relief with some more equitable housing needs-related allowance. It makes the obvious point that if necessary taxation should be increased to pay for social housing.

This is an excellent book. It is concise, easy to read and punchy yet it does not skimp on hard facts and evidence.

It should be made compulsory reading for all aspiring parliamentarians. And I’ve sent a copy to the person who questioned the link between housing and health.