Housing
We agree this is a crisis yet government can achieve nothing - why ? The reason is that government in my view is not the answer, it is the problem. Policy documents and strategies don't build houses, builders do. And they won't if they find planning expensive, time consuming and problematic and are faced with ever increasing regulatory demands. This is on the back of inflationary wage and materials costs, higher finance costs, increased risks and reduced margins.
Nursing AccommodationÂ
Empowering the sector
Funding
Building accommodation for nurses is one of the only self-funding projects on the government's potential list - we can build 120 units right next to the hospital on law grade agricultural land bought for exactly this purpose decades ago. We cannot afford sentimentality over a single field when people are sleeping rough. We must simply get on with it. Rental is prohibitively expensive because the States is paying high allowances for temporary staff to take up private sector accommodation, exacerbated by Brexit and general staff shortages. The president of Health has told us repeatedly these staff want to live next to the hospital. I would have the S5 planning application for hospital accommodation resubmitted immediately after the election.
Instead of drafting policy we should be listening to the practical issues which the sector, the GHA and the third sector is experiencing and help them to achieve their objectives. I would like to see a conference of all interested parties to formulate action points rather than draft more policy documents destined to collect dust whilst further complicating and restricting building activity. The inflexible IDP and its endless processes, reports and practices are strangling our ability to adapt and respond. In a small jurisdiction or small size and ability to be flexible should be a superpower, but we have tied ourselves down with unnecessary legislation and complex process. We need industry to help us move that to one side.
Development finance is risky and more expensive than in the past decade. This is creating more risk and uncertainty and driving developments which produce the highest margins. If we create a scheme where government will guarantee development finance, reducing costs, we can accellerate development and have some input on what is built. Guarantees are free to supply and if adequate security is taken by fronting banks and the States, also very low risk. We can do the same with the GHA, which is suffering from inadequate capitalisation. This is quick and easy to do, and should be possible to Implement in less than 6 months. We need to get banks to sign up to it and indicate what it would save and see if it can work for local developers, all as part of the plan to listen to what is needed.