Social housing in neighbourhoods across the UK has been substantially allocated to foreign migrants (Image: Getty)
Over half of social in 16 parts of the UK has been allocated to migrants, according to new figures. The data was compiled by right-wing political commentator and Professor of Politics at the University of Kent, Matt Goodwin, based on information from local authorities and the Migration Facts website.
He said: “These maps paint an incredibly troubling picture of what is now happening in some areas of the country. “These are just a handful of many places I could have chosen in England today where the vast majority of scarce social housing has gone to people who were , where most of the people who rely on the state are also not contributing to the state by working.” Demand for social housing across the country is dwarfed by the level of demand, with a much higher number of applications than available properties – and over a million households on a waiting list at a given time.
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People are rightly shocked that 48% of London’s social housing has gone to people who were not born in the UK. But look at some other parts of the UK:St Matthews Leicester 80%Ealing Southall East 76%Brent Northwick 75%Harrow Rayners Lane 72%Westminster St George’s 72%…
— Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ)
This is despite the UK boasting one of the largest social housing stocks in the world – accounting for 16.7% of its housing sector, more than twice the EU average of 7.5%, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Among the most shocking figures are the stats for St Matthews and Highfields in Leicester, a neighbourhood where over 80% of those living in council-owned properties were born outside the UK, and only 52% of whom are currently employed.
Southall Green East in Ealing follows with around 75% of people in social housing non-UK nationals, 43% of whom are in work, with the percentage of social housing allocated to migrants also hovering above 70% in Northwick and Wembley in Brent, Rayners Lane in Harrow, St George’s in Westminster, Spinney Hill in Leicester and Plashet West in Newham.
The Government is hoping to tackle the social housing crisis by unleashing the “biggest building boom in a generation”, by lifting “bureaucratic burdens” in the planning system through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
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Around 80% of social housing in Leicester has been allocated to non-UK nationals, data shows (Image: Getty)
The National Housing Federation has hailed planning reform as an “essential part” of tackling the problem, with Chief Executive Kate Henderson stressing the urgency of moving “more than 160,000 children [out of] temporary accommodation” and into council homes.
However, industry experts have questioned Deputy PM ‘s pledge to deliver 1.5 million homes across the country in the next five years. The Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee suggests that creating 370,000 new homes in England every year until 2030 is an “unlikely” prospect.
Plans to streamline the planning system have also been thrown into doubt by a shortfall in staff in local authority departments – but Anna Clarke, director of policy and public affairs for the Housing Forum, representing councils, associations and developers, said the 1.5 million target could possibly be reached by 2035.