CIH CONFERENCE Housing must play a central role in a society which is more divided than ever, Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive Terrie Alafat has told the annual CIH conference.
Alafat used her opening speech to call on the government to address an imbalance in housing funding, to review unfair welfare policies and tackle homelessness.
“The result of the election just a few weeks ago adds further uncertainty into an already very unpredictable and challenging environment,” she said.
“If the shock general election result and the last 12 months have taught us anything, it is that our society is more divided than it has ever been. Divided politically, financially, by generation and by ideology.
“People in our communities face challenges every day, and those challenges are different for each person. In such times our role at the heart of our communities is more important than it has ever been.”
A minute’s silence was held at the start of the conference to remember the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Alafat said: “We were part of a group of organisations which met with the housing minister following this terrible incident to look at what the response of the government and the sector should be, both in the immediate aftermath and in the long-term,” said Alafat. “I want to make one thing absolutely clear – we will be doing everything we can to play our part in making sure this never happens again.”
Alafat called on the government to review its entire approach to the local housing allowance – including the LHA cap and the local housing allowance levels – and to reverse the decision to lower the benefit cap.
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