THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COMMISSION ON HOUSING, Church and Community has issued a landmark report about housing provision in the UK, which calls for a national plan to tackle the crisis.

The report, Coming Home, makes recommendations which the Church, government and others can collectively take to alleviate the crisis, including the role the Church Commissioners might play.

In the foreword to the report, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York write: “This report by the independent Commission on Housing, Church and Community lays out a positive vision for housing, one that has been lacking in our national debate on this subject. The vision is centred on five core values, which are rooted in the Christian story but resonate with us all: good housing should be sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying.

“We both firmly believe the Church of England has a major role to play in realising this vision. This means putting our land and other resources to good use, not letting the pressure for financial profit prevent us from also delivering social and environmental benefits, including new housing developments that align with our five core values. It means encouraging dioceses and parishes to become more deeply involved in meeting local housing need and building community, learning from the great examples of church-led action that are featured throughout this report.”

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York and other key stakeholders from the church and housing sectors will discuss the actions and recommendations from the report in a free post-launch webinar on 24 February from 10:00am – 11:30am.

* More information on the webinar here.

* Read the report here.

* Source: Church of England