Government housing targets 'fall short'

A new report has warned that the government's target of building three million new homes by 2020 may not be enough to meet demand.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) raised concerns on Wednesday that the housing shortage could be adversely affecting workplace productivity.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said that many employees were now facing long commutes to work, as well as giving up "all hope of ever reaching the top of the social housing list".

Drawing attention to the decline in the number of new homes built between 1971 and 2006 - 365,000 compared to 212,000 - the report backed government plans to increase the rate of house construction and supported more good quality, environmentally-friendly housing stock.

Barber said: "Housing can have a huge impact upon an individual's working life and how productive they are once they go to work.

"Huge regional differences in the cost of housing have lead to labour shortages in certain areas, and property prices are forcing people to embark on ever longer commutes. 

"Similarly, workers living in poor housing are more likely to suffer from ill-health, and are likely to be less productive at work. It’s a problem the UK economy cannot afford to ignore."

With 1.5 million people are in need of decent housing, the report called for renovation and modernisation of the existing stock, and urged the private sector to offer more properties at market rates.