50 - It's a magic number

50 – it’s a magic number

Give people an opportunity and they’ll make the most of it – it’s just a shame that more people don’t do just that.

Deborah and I all kitted-up!

I was delighted to meet up with Deborah Porter earlier this week. Chances are you haven’t heard of Deborah. But for me – Deborah is a symbol. She’s a symbol of what someone can do when they’re given a chance to succeed. Deborah is the 50^th apprentice who we’ve taken on through our double-award winning LEAP programme.

She’s the latest in what is becoming a long line of tenants who we’ve been able to help by giving training, work experience - and in some cases, full time work.

Deb makes it 50 apprentices

Deborah joined us a few months ago – after being out of work for ten years. She’s worked in different factories over the years but never really had the chance to excel. What I really like about Deborah is her determination to be better. Off her own back, she enrolled at college and became a qualified carpenter; a profession that too few women have taken up. But she could never put those skills into practice because there was no-one who was willing to take a chance on her. She enrolled in our LEAP programme and I’m delighted that she’s our 50^th apprentice! She’s thriving in her new role on our handyperson scheme.

She seems to be really enjoying herself as well. And that’s what makes apprenticeships so rewarding for a company like ours. Seeing people who no-one else would take a chance on, really enjoying their work and really making the most of the opportunity which has come their way.

Ignore those who continually knock our city or who seem to take a perverse enjoyment in demonising those who live in council houses, Wolverhampton has a wealth of people who are desperate to do a good job – they just need to be given the chance and the confidence to succeed; and I couldn’t be prouder that LEAP is giving some of them that very chance.

Let's Get Building

In Wolverhampton, there are more than 12,000 people on the housing register. The sad truth is that many of those people will never be given a Council property as there are simply not enough to go round.

At Wolverhampton Homes, we let about 2000 homes each year but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the people left over have to live somewhere. Where do they go?

Some are in private rented housing and would prefer the security of Council housing; others are staying with friends or family in cramped, overcrowded conditions and a tiny minority may be living in hostels or on the streets. In short, in temporary, insecure circumstances that can make it harder for children to achieve educationally and for adults to further their careers or contribute to their community. So that’s one problem Britain is facing.

The other problem is that we have a huge deficit to tackle and there is no way we can do it purely through austerity. We need growth – a big, bold move to stimulate the economy – and I believe building new homes is the answer to that.

The great thing about this is that to deliver thousands of new homes, the Government doesn’t have to spend a penny. They can allow councils to build 60,000 much needed new homes over the next five years at the stroke of a pen. All they need to do is increase the amount of debt councils can borrow against their housing stock.

The National Federation of ALMOs, in a report called ‘Let’s Get Building’, makes a compelling case for this move. It says that 92p out of every £1 spent on building stays in the UK and that 56p of this returns to the Exchequer - with 36p of that bringing direct savings in tax and benefits.

When America was in the grip of the Great Depression, they invested in capital projects like the Hoover Dam because they knew that building things was a golden opportunity to stimulate the economy. Let’s hope the Chancellor has the same foresight in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement and helps get Britain building.