The condition of many of Britain’s social housing estates is ‘a national embarrassment’, a think tank has warned.
A report from Policy Exchange has urged the Government to turn around the country’s most deprived estates over the next 10 years.
Decades of neglect and ‘ghettoisation’ have resulted in entrenched social problems including child neglect, domestic violence and knife crime - according to The estate we’re in.
In a series of recommendations, the paper calls for the creation of an ‘estates recovery board’ at both a local and national level to complement the Government’s ‘troubled families’ team.
Representatives from councils, the police, headteachers and the NHS should also be pooled to work with residents in local estates.
Gavin Knight, inner city crime writer and author of the report, said: ‘It would be morally inexcusable for policymakers to turn their backs on Britain’s sink estates.
‘Deprived council estates can be transformed from dangerous backwaters. Gang members can be presented with a route away from crime towards a better life.
‘Children and families living in these troubled communities can have their life changes dramatically enhanced. But only if the Government commits to a 10 year programme to clear up the worst estates in the country.’
Speaking to the BBC this morning, local government minister Brandon Lewis said ‘the real key’ to improving the current situation would be ‘making sure those local areas have the power and support from government to make a difference’.
