ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the allocation of public funds for housing into a more coherent relationship with needs indicators. It offers the possibility of a clear connection between evidence of housing need and remedial action by the government, within the budget limit. Housing needs assessment is complex, although capable of producing results with useful policy content provided that the definitions are kept clear. Such a national projection implies further assumptions about tenure distinctions within any additional population. The main practical problem remains with the social housing aspect. Depending on the location of new employment within the country, the numbers of new households will be affected. The new procedure involves both an analytically random political element and a less random element related to the efficiency and effectiveness of particular local authorities. Depending on market circumstances, it is quite possible that the market housing target would be taken up before the social one.
