Delegates at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate heard a stark warning from academic Professor John Hills that social housing could end up simply ‘warehousing the poor’ if issues of inequality and worklessness are not tackled.

Following publication of his influential report in February 2007, Ends and means: the future roles of social housing, Professor Hills used the conference platform to predict two possible destinations for 20 years into the future. He called for the housing sector to help tenants into employment, to widen housing options and to reduce the distinctions between tenants and homeowners in order to get fit for purpose. The alternative, he said, would be an increasingly divided society of the asset owning classes on one side and tenants on the other.

Sarah Webb, CIH Deputy Chief Executive said: "Some of Professor Hills’ excellent report makes for uncomfortable reading, especially for those of us who see our housing job as a vocation. Do we have estates that are the housing equivalent of ‘turkey twizzlers’ – bad for you! And if yes, how do we respond?"

Adam Sampson, Chief Executive of Shelter, agreed that a wider range of options for social housing tenants was needed but warned the sector not to drop the two things most treasured by tenants: security of tenure and affordability.

Lynsey Hanley, author of Estates:A Personal History reflected on her own experience of council estate living and stressed the need for ‘equality of esteem’. A removal of the stigma from social housing tenants would improve their health, well-being and the way they feel about their home environment, she said.

Underlining the good work that housing professionals are already doing to improve the lives of their residents, Kate Davies, Chief Executive of Notting Hill Housing Group pointed to solutions here and now for tackling the shortage of supply, the lack of choice and lack of mobility. She said: "If we link customers’ aspirations to own with their desire to become economically active we can create opportunities for movement."

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(Issued on behalf of the CIH by Jill Dwyer, Media Relations Officer, CIH Press Office, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JP. Telephone: 07786 716961. Press@cih.org).

Notes to Editors:

The CIH is the professional body for individuals working in housing. Its primary aim is to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the well-being of communities. CIH has over 20,000 individual members working for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, Government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector.  Further information is available at: www.cih.org