Bokloks Housing policy

Prescott's 'Bokloks' housing policy

Caroline Spelman, the Shadow Secretary for Local Government Affairs, has suggested that John Prescott's entire housing policy could be described in similar terms to 'Bokloks' - the name used by IKEA for their self assembly houses. "Ikea has a name for their self-assembly houses - Bokloks - and the English phrase that springs to mind for Mr Prescott's entire housing policy is pretty similar," she told MPs in the Commons.Describing the Deputy Premier's plans to build over the countryside as "unworkable", Mrs Spelman went on: "He intends to build his houses on public sector land.

But the Chancellor has already included the profit from the sale of this land in his calculations - the red book shows revenue of £30 billion over five years. If the Chancellor has sold it, how is Mr Prescott going to build on it?"She said: "Mr Prescott has failed to satisfactorily answer this question. Nor has he addressed criticisms raised from many sectors as to the wisdom, or otherwise, of his proposals."Mr Prescott's housing strategy has come under heavy fire from experts. The Association of British Insurers has refused to underwrite many of the homes due to flood risk.

Property developers Crest Nicholson and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors do not believe it possible to provide houses for the £60,000 price promoted by the Deputy Prime Minister. And the Labour-dominated Commons Environment Committee warned of the environmental damage likely to be caused by the new homes schemes.