Services are suffering

3:25pm Thursday 28th February 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

BASINGSTOKE is one of the biggest centres of employment in the South East and critical to the economic success of the country.

Basingstoke residents pay significantly more in tax than many other areas of the country but, in return, we receive significantly lower levels of expenditure on critical services.

Of course, it is important that areas which are economically less successful are supported to do better, but my concern is that the scale of redistribution that we are now experiencing is starting to mean crucial local services cannot deliver what residents need. There is a shortage of care for the elderly, cuts to health visitors for families with young children, a lack of doctors surgeries and too few police on our streets to deter anti-social behaviour.

Basingstoke people work hard and deserve the right level of local services.

GOVERNMENT-SET house-building targets mean more than 1,000 houses were built in our area last year, well in excess of what the local council has estimated is needed, but this has done nothing to make house prices more affordable.

A recent report showed that even if building was to increase to almost 2,000 houses a year in Basingstoke, house prices would continue to rise, from eight times to 11 times average salary.

We cannot build ourselves out of this house price crisis. We need to focus on affordability.

We need more effective shared ownership schemes available to more people and innovative ways in which land can be used through Community Land Trusts, to make housing more affordable for local residents. Then we might see a real difference for those who need help.

TO CONTACT Maria, call her at the House of Commons on 0207 219 5749, e-mail millerm@parliament.uk or write to her at The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.