Reform UK have announced plans to remove foreign nationals from social housing and place British-born workers under the age of 35 at the front of the queue, with priority given to married couples with children. 

Responding to this proposal, Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy & Social Change at Crisis, said:

“These plans will not deliver the number of social homes needed to fix Britain’s housing crisis. Instead, they risk stoking division and scapegoating people who are already facing housing insecurity.

“It’s almost impossible for non-UK nationals to access social housing, with official figures showing that the vast majority of social tenants are UK citizens. The idea that people can simply come to this country and be given a social home is untrue.

“The reason waiting lists are at record levels is the failure to build enough social housing. Research shows that building 90,000 social homes a year is needed to end homelessness in England. These plans fall far short of that and any positive impact of building new homes under this proposal will only be undermined by excluding people who need them.

“Excluding people from social housing because they are out of work would mean turning away older people, disabled people and carers. Nearly half of households moving into a social home include someone with a long-term illness or disability.

“The only way to address this crisis is to deliver social homes, not tinker with the system to exclude people.”