Future Homes Commission Report

Lord Sawyer Excerpts

Tuesday 4th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sawyer]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Whitaker for engaging with this excellent report. We went together to the launch. It is clear, to the point and exactly the kind of thing we need.

In the short time I have available, I shall follow the previous two speakers and say more about a bit of a hole in the Government’s policy, which is design. Their policy covers many important aspects of housing but it does not say very much about design, and this report does. There is poverty of expectation about design and space. No one in the supply chain, whether bankers, building societies, developers or even the Government, talk about it enough or promote it. It is absent. Consequently, people get limited choice from developers who stick with the standard design. It is easy and cheap to produce boxes with two bedrooms of 12 feet by 11 feet and a living room of 15 feet by 11 feet. That is pretty dreadful really, but many thousands of such houses have been built over the past years. Yet when asked about design, witnesses report that people have aspirations. They like large windows, natural light and large rooms with high ceilings—all the things that people who can afford to move away from the bottom and middle of the market buy for themselves.

Some of the homes that we build today are a disgrace, with no space for storage or for other things for the family: places to work, places to eat and separate spaces for other members of the family. International comparisons reveal that the scale of space problems is serious. We have the smallest spaces of any western European country for people to live in. Along with space, people need light. This report shows that natural light is the single most important attribute in a house, yet we now see that many homes with small standard-design windows have been built over previous years. While addressing this report, I would like to see the Government take on some of these issues.

Space, light and storage are very important and should be included in the building regulations, a point made by the noble Baroness. There should be a much more comprehensive way of getting to know what customers want and getting those things followed by builders and developers. Often today, properties are simply described as one-bed, two-bed or three-bed, which tells you nothing about design or space or what the house or flat is really about. That is totally inadequate.

There may be those who think that in a time of austerity with deep-seated problems in the housing market and many big political issues in housing, a focus on design should not be a priority. I think they are wrong. Previous speakers have said that, and the report says it. When you see how blighted and limited the lives of people can be without proper space, light or design, you see how important it is. You see couples with no storage space. If you read the report, you will see that it mentions a couple in Liverpool who bought a new-build house and have to store things in the boot of the car outside. It is amazing that these things can happen. When you see so many people with those small 15 feet by 11 feet rooms for all the family to live in and no common areas in the house for people to work in, you realise how much benefit good design could bring to the lives of those people.

Homes are important to people. After families and loved ones, homes are perhaps the most important thing. When I was a trade union official, how many times I heard people say, “Oh my God, if I lose my job, I lose my home”. I knew that the job was important, but, my God, the thing that was most important to them was their home. That is very important and we must never underestimate it. The successful Scandinavian countries spend a lot of time and energy on design and space; there must be some lessons for us there. Good design is a major contribution to the mental and physical well-being of the population, and it must be important to productivity and business success. I would like the Government to look at the chapters in the report about design and think about incorporating some of them in government policy. I am sure there will be some good ideas there and that the Government will not be too proud to take on good ideas when they are able to find them.

In particular, will the Minister comment on what current policies the Government have to improve design in new-build homes and what their thoughts are on the space, light and storage issues, the three big things that are lacking? Will the Government let us know at some time what plans they have to provide more information for consumers and, in particular, to raise the level of debate? I know it is not their job solely, but we need them to be involved in raising the level of debate in the country about design so that people can be more informed and we can get the whole thing moving in the right direction.