Calls to update key worker definition

02-Dec-2005

The government has been urged to update the definition of a key worker to ensure that workers in rural areas are given access to affordable housing.

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Updating the old term to "essential workers" would help those who work in more isolated regions to get on the first rung of the property ladder, argues the National Housing Federation (NHF).

The NHF believes that more must be done to avoid a rural housing crisis and has submitted a number of recommendations to the Affordable Rural Housing Committee asking for a five-year plan to be drawn up.

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As part of the submission, the organisation said the definition needs to be "less restrictive" and should be widened to include bus drivers, postal workers and caretakers instead of just nurses and teachers.

Under the five-year plan, a national rural housing target should be used to ensure new developments are on track, says the NHF, while restrictions on the right to buy in the countryside are also needed.

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