Homeless Public Service – Key Workers Priced Out
WHERE would we be without the property boom?
Answer: Far less in debt with hideous mortgages for one thing, and we wouldn’t have the likes of Kirsty and Phil, Sarah Bennie and a whole army of smug property ‘experts’ lighting up our TV screens every evening.
Still, for some people, the whole ‘boom’ has passed them by, with public sector workers struggling to get even a toe on the first rung of the property ladder.
A new report by the Halifax reveals that teachers, nurses, police and firefighters can’t afford to buy homes in seven out of ten UK towns.
The bank, not surprisingly, found London and south-east to be the least affordable areas of the country with Gerrards Cross, Kensington and Chelsea and Weybridge topping the list.
With wage increases for the public sector failing to keep pace with the growth in house prices, Anne Mitchell of Unison explains: “Health workers are effectively being given a pay cut and the idea that they can get on the property ladder is a non-starter for many.”
Scottish towns of Lochgelly, Bellshill and Clydebank are ranked as the most afforable places to live.
Anyone want to bet they have the best-staffed hospitals, police stations, fire stations and schools in the country?
Posted: 15th, April 2007 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
