A new 3 year study into housing inequalities in society was launched in July.
The £0.7m project, led by Dr Beverley Searle of the Centre for Housing Research at the University of St Andrews will investigate the growing gaps in housing wealth and their consequences for the social and economic wellbeing of families in Britain. Dr Searle, alongside colleagues from St Andrews, Birmingham and Durham Universities, will look at issues such as the changing patterns of family wealth, the ageing population and the difficulties younger people face in accessing housing. They argue that present Government housing policies leave families exposed and vulnerable. The project will look at the causes and consequences of housing wealth gaps across generations and the implications for long term policy change in Britain and beyond.
The project, ‘Mind the (Housing) Wealth Gap: Inter-generational Justice and Family Welfare’, is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The three-year study will explore inequalities in society and look at issues such as the transfer of family wealth across generations, which is of growing political and social importance. Dr Searle commented, “It is often assumed that people who own their own property have the financial means to support themselves and their families. But as we have recently seen, and not for the first time, the housing market can fall rapidly. This leaves families exposed and vulnerable at a time when they may be in most need of a financial safety net. Many home owners struggle to get by, whilst those who rent and have no housing wealth are at a disadvantage.”
The project launch was backed by Kate Barker, author of the Barker review of UK housing supply. She said, “Understanding the future patterns and uses of housing wealth in Britain will be at the core of shaping not only recovery in housing opportunities for the young but also the ways in which the nation copes with ageing. The present government has so far failed to improve on the record of its predecessors in delivering effective housing market outcomes. Present policy arrangements fail to grapple with market realities and their consequences for young and old; and may reinforce the significant housing wealth gaps. These gaps result in unjust outcomes now and in the future”.
For more information visit the project website: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/wealthgap
The £0.7m project, led by Dr Beverley Searle of the Centre for Housing Research at the University of St Andrews will investigate the growing gaps in housing wealth and their consequences for the social and economic wellbeing of families in Britain. Dr Searle, alongside colleagues from St Andrews, Birmingham and Durham Universities, will look at issues such as the changing patterns of family wealth, the ageing population and the difficulties younger people face in accessing housing. They argue that present Government housing policies leave families exposed and vulnerable. The project will look at the causes and consequences of housing wealth gaps across generations and the implications for long term policy change in Britain and beyond.
The project, ‘Mind the (Housing) Wealth Gap: Inter-generational Justice and Family Welfare’, is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The three-year study will explore inequalities in society and look at issues such as the transfer of family wealth across generations, which is of growing political and social importance. Dr Searle commented, “It is often assumed that people who own their own property have the financial means to support themselves and their families. But as we have recently seen, and not for the first time, the housing market can fall rapidly. This leaves families exposed and vulnerable at a time when they may be in most need of a financial safety net. Many home owners struggle to get by, whilst those who rent and have no housing wealth are at a disadvantage.”
The project launch was backed by Kate Barker, author of the Barker review of UK housing supply. She said, “Understanding the future patterns and uses of housing wealth in Britain will be at the core of shaping not only recovery in housing opportunities for the young but also the ways in which the nation copes with ageing. The present government has so far failed to improve on the record of its predecessors in delivering effective housing market outcomes. Present policy arrangements fail to grapple with market realities and their consequences for young and old; and may reinforce the significant housing wealth gaps. These gaps result in unjust outcomes now and in the future”.
For more information visit the project website: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/wealthgap
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