Soldato
So you are Government and you have £75Bn to invest, you are in complete control what would you do and why?
I would start a massive social housing building project.
This would utilise existing undeveloped brownfield sites but also some compulsory purchase of vacant properties and unused building land.
Unused building land would be compulsory purchased that had been made available for building but unused for 20 years. It would be valued at the original sale price plus RPI from the date it was sold.
As part of the scheme existing house builders would be asked to tender for the work, they would provide the expertise and the know how, however the actual building would be over seen by the local councils who would all be tasked to come up with a plan for their area. The house builders would basically be able to sell their services at a small profit to ensure they do not suffer unduly from this program. If they choose to not take part they are fully able to do that, but should there be a shortage wanting to take part a national housebuilding company would be setup to push the scheme forwards, employing individuals should that be needed.
In conjunction to go alongside the scheme there would be an apprentice scheme which required these house builders to train the trades. They would not directly employ these apprentices, and would not be liable for the costs, they would however be able to take them on at from the scheme. They would be liable to train these apprentices. The level of apprentices would be balanced to not create a vast oversupply of fully trained trades a few years down the line. The long term, circa 25 years level would be taken into account so this would not be a short term fix and then allow the industry to stagnate in 5 years time (ie not a political quick win)
The quality of the houses would not be aimed at top notch, nor would it be aimed to be poor either. Basically small family homes or single occupancy aimed (ie a few rooms upto 3 bed).
People can apply directly for the apprenticeship or would be put forwards by the Job Centre based on being assessed as having the correct potential skill set and attitude. (ie its not just a shove these lazy loosers into the program approach)
Those taking part in the apprenticeship scheme would be given a preferential application for one of the houses at the end of their apprenticeship. (ie Carrot)
These housees by statute would be banned from being purchaseable at any discount, they should be seen as a long term benefit to the country and our social support for anyone who needs it in our country. Flashier and larger housing would only be supplied by the current market.
The cost of the housing would be linked to actual wages on a sliding scale based on the size of the accomodation. Eg a 3 bed may be 30% of wages, so 30% of your take home wages would be treated as your rent. These funds would be collected with PAYE and returned back to the scheme.
My reasoning is this :
- Our global competitiveness is restrained by overly expensive houses this restrains the ability for us to attract and maintain industry in the UK
- The house building would kick start a lot of sectors, not just building, but retail (carpets, furniture etc)
- Contracts could be awarded for other industries to supply items, services, etc but again they would be restricted on profit, they would be guaranteed volumes on this scheme not large profit
- The population would gain a massive safety net of a right to a decent property giving them confidence for now and also into their retirement. Confident consumers are spending consumers
I would start a massive social housing building project.
This would utilise existing undeveloped brownfield sites but also some compulsory purchase of vacant properties and unused building land.
Unused building land would be compulsory purchased that had been made available for building but unused for 20 years. It would be valued at the original sale price plus RPI from the date it was sold.
As part of the scheme existing house builders would be asked to tender for the work, they would provide the expertise and the know how, however the actual building would be over seen by the local councils who would all be tasked to come up with a plan for their area. The house builders would basically be able to sell their services at a small profit to ensure they do not suffer unduly from this program. If they choose to not take part they are fully able to do that, but should there be a shortage wanting to take part a national housebuilding company would be setup to push the scheme forwards, employing individuals should that be needed.
In conjunction to go alongside the scheme there would be an apprentice scheme which required these house builders to train the trades. They would not directly employ these apprentices, and would not be liable for the costs, they would however be able to take them on at from the scheme. They would be liable to train these apprentices. The level of apprentices would be balanced to not create a vast oversupply of fully trained trades a few years down the line. The long term, circa 25 years level would be taken into account so this would not be a short term fix and then allow the industry to stagnate in 5 years time (ie not a political quick win)
The quality of the houses would not be aimed at top notch, nor would it be aimed to be poor either. Basically small family homes or single occupancy aimed (ie a few rooms upto 3 bed).
People can apply directly for the apprenticeship or would be put forwards by the Job Centre based on being assessed as having the correct potential skill set and attitude. (ie its not just a shove these lazy loosers into the program approach)
Those taking part in the apprenticeship scheme would be given a preferential application for one of the houses at the end of their apprenticeship. (ie Carrot)
These housees by statute would be banned from being purchaseable at any discount, they should be seen as a long term benefit to the country and our social support for anyone who needs it in our country. Flashier and larger housing would only be supplied by the current market.
The cost of the housing would be linked to actual wages on a sliding scale based on the size of the accomodation. Eg a 3 bed may be 30% of wages, so 30% of your take home wages would be treated as your rent. These funds would be collected with PAYE and returned back to the scheme.
My reasoning is this :
- Our global competitiveness is restrained by overly expensive houses this restrains the ability for us to attract and maintain industry in the UK
- The house building would kick start a lot of sectors, not just building, but retail (carpets, furniture etc)
- Contracts could be awarded for other industries to supply items, services, etc but again they would be restricted on profit, they would be guaranteed volumes on this scheme not large profit
- The population would gain a massive safety net of a right to a decent property giving them confidence for now and also into their retirement. Confident consumers are spending consumers