Oldham Borough Lib Dems call on Government to build more social housing

11.28.00pm GMT Thu 5th Feb 2009

Liberal Democrats in Oldham Borough have called for the government to invest more in social housing to ease the recession in the construction industry and provide homes for the thousands of people on the housing list in Oldham Borough.

Mark Alcock, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Oldham West & Royton, said, "There are over 6,200 construction workers in the Oldham Borough area.

"Many hundreds have already lost their jobs and unless there is action now, thousands more construction jobs are at risk. This then causes a ripple effect, putting other jobs at risk, in all sorts of areas from sandwich shops to building supply businesses.

"A commitment from the government to free up funding for more social housing would help to tackle the thousands of people on the list for social housing in the Oldham area.

"There are over 8,000 people on the waiting list for housing in the Oldham area, and we fear the number of people needing social housing is increasing. If the government made more funding available for social housing then we could provide homes for some of those in the most need, as well as investing in employment.

"The Government should act now, not wait until it is to late".