Opinion: Families will be happy

Does the government's decision to give itself the means to change the current outdated overcrowding standard mean that families today will no longer be forced to suffer the misery caused by overcrowded homes?

By the time you read this the Housing Bill – in which the change is to be made – will have been debated in parliament, so the answer to that question may already be becoming clear. But as I write this, the answer is far from obvious.

We know of the government's intention to amend the Housing Bill to change the present standard; what we don't know is how quickly the government will act. The test will be whether people in overcrowded homes are protected from the type of living conditions that tear families apart.

We began to see the first glimmer of ministerial action in October last year, when the ODPM agreed to my request to commission focused research into the levels of overcrowding and its impact on children's education and health.

This followed research I had done in my own outer London constituency, seeking the views of school heads and local doctors on the impact of overcrowded homes on children. It made very uncomfortable reading.

Together with a small group of MPs and with the help of a very engaged housing press, we lobbied hard for the modernisation of the overcrowding standard to be included in the Housing Bill that was debated on Tuesday.

Back in December, I wrote in Housing Today that this bill, then at the draft stage, offered the best opportunity to change the law on overcrowding, and I urged the government to act.

The government should be congratulated for its recognition of the need to look properly at tackling overcrowding. The problem has been the hidden part of the housing crisis for more than a decade. Updating the standard, now nearly 70 years old, has become an urgent prerequisite for establishing decent minimum standards of accommodation for all.

I don't underestimate the difficulties the government faces in turning around the fate of families trapped in accommodation that forces daughters to share bedrooms with fathers, sons to sleep on sofas and many families never to have the experience of eating supper from a table because the flat is too small for so-called luxuries.

We are all moved by the despair caused to families living in homes so cramped that there's no floor space for children to play and develop, where teenagers are so frustrated and embarrassed about where they live that they never invite friends home and where marriages often break down because the strain is unbearable.

But I also recognise the understandable anxiety of councils that already experience significant housing stress and worry that a new standard may only offer false hope to those experiencing the worst conditions.

All of us who call for change accept the difficulties and challenges the new standard brings.

But if we are to bring about real change, we must will the means to achieve it. In the recent Budget, the chancellor committed the government to providing a real increase in resources for housing in July's comprehensive spending review. I hope that will reflect this change in policy.

I'm delighted that the government has moved to reform the standard to protect families hopefully now and for future generations from housing misery.

Local authorities will have their say during the forthcoming consultation on the changes. There is a lot of goodwill among local authorities and I hope they will be as willing as the government to make sure overcrowding policy becomes a 21st-century housing priority.