It’s Day 7 of #ChallengePoverty Week

Housing costs are the largest expenditure for most households and the rising cost of rents in all sectors combined with a short supply of social housing is pushing up the cost of housing and forcing people into inadequate homes.

Social rents are much cheaper than private rents, so if we want to #ChallengePoverty and #TurnTheTide on rising housing costs, it makes sense to invest more in social housing.

Regulating the private sector along with expanding the social housing sector is crucial to ensuring people have access to good quality, affordable, green homes.

Services like transport, childcare and internet access expand our opportunities and help us to thrive. However, low-income households are often priced out of these services and are prevented from fully participating in society.

The Covid-19 pandemic underlined the importance of digital access. Over the past few years, it has defined the work, education and social lives of many of us. For many people on low incomes, digital exclusion has actively made life harder and in some cases prevented people from accessing the services they need.

Cuts to our #PublicServices hit the poorest hardest. We need to #TurnTheTide on public funding and use progressive taxes to increase investment in services that help #ChallengePoverty.