Conservative “heads in the sand” on Essex housing crisis

The sheer scale of the housing crisis in Essex was put on the agenda at Essex County Council today (11th October). The Liberal Democrats tabled a motion calling for action, but this was watered down by the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrats drew attention to the nearly 600 Afghans stuck in Essex hotels for months, over a thousand Ukrainian families in Essex, and many thousands of homeless Essex households. Lib Dem Leader, Cllr Mike Mackrory, said, "District councils are already struggling to find emergency accommodation for thousands of homeless Essex households. Having to deal with additional refugee families becoming homeless just adds to the challenge.

"This is all down to a failure to build anything like enough homes in Britain for over 20 years. It's deeply disappointing that the Conservatives won't face up to the scale of the crisis.

We need radical action to build genuinely-affordable homes - with the right infrastructure in advance."

Liberal Democrat Motion: Afghans, Ukrainians and The Housing Crisis

Essex County Council offers thanks to the generous Essex residents who offered their homes to host new residents from Ukraine and to others who have volunteered to support new residents from Afghanistan.

The Council notes that we need to ensure that if placements under the Homes for Ukraine scheme end for any reason that local authorities work together to ensure that refugees are rematched with new hosts wherever possible.

This Council regrets that there are over 300 Afghans stuck in hotels around the county, some of whom have been there nearly a year, due to a lack of homes for them to rent. This Council believes that hotels, except for a short stay, are inappropriate housing for such a long period, in particular for the long-term wellbeing of children.

This Council notes the ongoing housing crisis in Essex, where there is a huge lack of affordable homes to rent or buy, meaning there are thousands of Essex residents who are currently homeless and being housed in emergency accommodation by the city, district, and borough councils.

Therefore, this Council asks the Leader of the Council to:

• Work with the Borough, City and District councils to ensure that rematching works as effectively as possible.
• Ensure that funding allocated by central Government for the Homes for Ukraine scheme is made available to all local authorities who are incurring costs with respect to the scheme, to reduce the risk of housing authorities having to locate and fund emergency accommodation for Ukrainians.
• Request the Secretary of State at DLUHC to (a) redouble discussions with other Government departments to identify Government-owned land and property where Afghan families might be accommodated, and (b) support councils so that they can build substantial, extra numbers of genuinely affordable homes, whilst protecting the Green Belt, so that ALL residents of Essex can afford a decent home.