Poor housing 'costs UK billions of pounds a year'

POOR housing costs the UK billions of pounds a year in healthcare, crime and educational failure, a study claimed today.

The National Housing Federation estimates the NHS spends 2.5 billion annually treating people suffering from illnesses directly linked to living in cold, damp and often dangerous homes. It claims a further 1.8 billion a year is spent on police responses to crimes that are associated with substandard housing.