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HOUSING WAITING LISTS ESCALATE
MORE than
217,000 households are on the council housing waiting lists in the
North West - an increase of 74.4% since 1997, according to figures
revealed by Shelter. When Labour took power 10 years ago
124,642 households were waiting for a council home in the North
West. But the last decade has seen the council housing waiting lists
soar to 217,397 leaving thousands of families trapped in overcrowded
housing or temporary accommodation.
Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said:- "Council housing
waiting lists in the North West are rising at a shocking rate and
show that since the Labour Government took power 10 years ago it has
simply not done enough to tackle the chronic shortage of social
homes in the region. This has left many ordinary families in
North West waiting years for a decent home with many children
growing up in squalid and cramped conditions or without a home to
call their own. The Government must build more homes now if they are
serious about tackling the housing crisis."
The figures for the North West are part of the national figure of
1.6 million households on council housing waiting lists, up 600,000
in the last decade. New analysis by Shelter shows this figure could
rise by 400,000 nationally to more than two million by 2010.
Mr Sampson added:- "Gordon Brown has now signalled that
housing will be one of his key priorities when he becomes Prime
Minister next week. These figures show the extent of the challenge
he faces and how many more hard-working families in the North West
will suffer if he fails to deliver on his promise to build the
social homes this nation needs. More and more ordinary
families are suffering in cramped conditions or trapped in temporary
accommodation whilst they wait years, sometimes as long as 20 years,
for a decent home to bring up their children."
Shelter is calling on the Government to announce a national building
programme of 60,000 extra social homes over the next 3 years in the
autumn Comprehensive Spending Review. This would be on top of the
Government's plans to build 150,000 in the next 3 years.
Mr Sampson also
mapped out a 6 point plan to help solve the housing crisis. The
Government should:-
· Free up more publicly owned land for development, particularly for
social/affordable homes
· Make available the
investment needed in roads, transport, schools, and other
infrastructure needed to support new housing
· Give stronger
financial incentives to councils to promote housing growth
· Ensure councils
decide on planning applications quicker, with decisions on major
residential developments being prioritised
· Bring in measures
to ensure land already granted planning permission is developed
quicker
· Hold a review of
the buy-to-let scheme and its effect on 1st time buyers trying to
access the housing market
In 1966, the year Shelter was formed, the Government built nearly
140,000 council homes throughout the country, but last year that
figure was less than 18,000. And under the Right to Buy scheme,
where tenants could purchase their council home, 1.7 million
properties have been sold off without being replaced, decimating the
stock of council houses.
Mr Sampson added:- "With thousands of new households being
formed each year in the North West and almost 225,000 throughout the
country, and more and more people finding it almost impossible to
buy a property the council lists could continue to rise
dramatically. The Government must build more homes now
to begin tackling the chronic shortage of affordable houses."
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JOB ADVERT:- "ESA seeks candidates for simulated 'Missions to
Mars' in 2008/2009."
THE European
Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for future human exploration
missions to Mars and have put out a job advert for 12 men and women
to volunteer to take part in a 520 day simulated Mars mission. No
this is no joke... The 12 will participate in the all types of
simulations and thereby help ESA to support the preparations of the
real thing. The tests will require four volunteers for each of the
three simulations.
ESA's media relations told us that:- "A human mission to Mars
is a bold vision for the time beyond the International Space
Station. Preparations have already started today. They are geared
and committed to one goal:- ''To send humans on an exploration
mission to Mars'' and you could be part of it. We are currently
looking for volunteers to take part in a a simulated Mars mission.
To go to Mars is still a dream and one of the last gigantic
challenges. But one day some of us will be on a journey to the Red
Planet with no way out once the spaceship is on a direct path to
Mars.
The men and women who will one day do this journey, will have to
take care of themselves for almost two years during the roundtrip.
Their survival is in their own hands, relying on the work of
thousands of engineers and scientists back on Earth, to make such a
mission possible. The crew will experience extreme isolation and
confinement. They will lose sight of planet Earth. A radio contact
will take 40 minutes to travel to us on Earth and then back to the
space explorers."
The simulation is set to investigate the human factors of such a
mission and will be conducted on Earth, but run as if it was in
space. To do this ESA has teamed up with the Russian Institute of
Biomedical Problems (IBMP) and will send a joint crew of six on a
520-day simulated mission to Mars. ESA told the media that:-
"The simulation follows the mission profile of a real Mars mission,
including a exploration phase on the surface of Mars. Nutrition will
be identical to that provided on board the International Space
Station.
The simulations will take place here on Earth inside a special
facility in Moscow. A precursor 105 day study is scheduled to start
by mid 2008, possibly followed by another 105 day study, before the
full 520 day study begins in later on in 2008 or early 2009."
The selection procedure is similar to that of ESA astronauts,
although there will be more emphasis on psychological factors and
stress resistance than on physical fitness.
Are you interested?
For detailed information on this Call for Candidates and for the
application form please refer to:-
spaceflight.esa.int/callforcandidates
"Also alongside such dedicated space mission simulations, a
complementary approach to understand the complexities of human
health and behaviour is to look at analogue environments. These are
operational environments, which, through their natural situation
produce some similar constraints as for example a mission to Mars.
ESA has already been active for some years in the Antarctic
Concordia research station. In support of the scientific and
technical projects there, ESA is looking for one person (each year)
with a medical background. The details of that Call for Candidates
can also be found at the same website address." ESA added.
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