Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Gary Malcolm, spoke at an Ealing Council Scrutiny Committee meeting last week (Scrutiny Committee 4) and asked questions relating to how the targets were set.

In their answers the Council officer said that they initially assessed what was possible and then the Labour Portfolio holder for Housing added on extra, so it became 4,000 genuinely affordable housing. The officers also spoke about the problems of rising building costs.

Councillor Gary Malcolm said: "Liberal Democrats say that the evidence is clear that given the Council missed its target last time and that it set a target this time which was higher than the figure the Council officers said was reasonable there is a great risk that the target for genuinely affordable housing will not be met. On top of that we have seen the cost of building houses rise, the cost of borrowing also rising as house prices fall, it appears to be a recipe for not being realistic about what will be achieved. Liberal Democrats want to see genuinely affordable housing in suitable locations which are of a high quality, built to last."

The agenda and papers for the Scrutiny Committee which took place on 17th November can be read in full on the Ealing Council website here.

Currently the target is for 4,000 new genuinely affordable homes to be achieved by May 2026. The previous four-year target was for 2,047 new genuinely affordable homes, a target that was met after the timescale had been extended.

In a recent briefing Ealing Council said it was not meeting its housing targets and that it would be a challenge for the Council in the coming years.