Jermaine's Story

Jermaine, 32, from Gorton and Denton in the North West, wanted to retrain in construction to help build the homes his community desperately needs. Training providers had places available, local housing targets remained unmet, and planning permissions were already in place. But HM Treasury's approach to infrastructure spending blocked his path. Rather than seeing construction training as the mechanism to put skilled workers to work building homes, central government treated it as a deficit risk. The workers were ready, the capacity existed, but Westminster's financial ideology created an artificial shortage. This episode examines how monetary constraints that don't actually exist prevent real solutions to the housing crisis. Recorded February 2024. Views expressed are the contributor's own and do not reflect those of any affiliated organisation.