Whilst the availability of social housing has been diminishing at an alarming rate, the stock that remains becoming increasingly run-down and neglected. Let’s face it, it takes something like the tragedy of Grenfell Tower for most people to stop and listen. Indeed, the left-leaning news outlets have been more concerned with affordable housing; almost entirely focussed on London. This is because most of us, most of you reading this, have been lucky enough to have never had to rely on social housing for accommodation.
In Paul Sng’s new documentary Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle, he focusses on the pressing issue of social housing, or the lack there of, around the UK. With a voiceover from Maxine Peak, Sng visits social housing estates in London, Glasgow, Nottingham and beyond to speak to the residents and analyse the actions taken by governments and local councils. He uncovers an institutional neglect by councils, spurred party by spending cuts, which pointed towards a much darker rationale.
What Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle lacks in style and finesse it makes up for in stone cold facts and social imperative. The situation in perilous and is only set to deteriorate unless action is taken immediately. This isn’t just a party-political issue, it cuts across the board. It’s between the comfortable classes and those increasingly falling into an underclass. Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle is a timely and vitally important documentary.
Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle is released on DVD and VoD by Verve Pictures on 23 October.
