Job losses could “snuff out” sector’s skills and potential

The head of the CIH has called the prospect of 700,000 public sector job losses “terrifying” and warned that they threaten a loss of skills in the housing and local government sectors.

Responding to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement, Grainia Long – the CIH’s interim chief executive said: “The prospect of 700,000 public sector job losses over five years, nearly double what was originally predicted, is terrifying.

“It poses a huge risk that skills and capacity will be lost within the housing and wider local government sector just when the government is relying heavily on housing and planning reforms to turn around the weak economy.

“We can see a glimmer of hope for the economy around housing development and the new youth employment scheme which we expect the housing sector will get behind, but a loss of vital strategic, commissioning and delivery capacity could quickly snuff out this spark and leave housing and communities in a very worrying place over the longer term.”