Housing hiatus

It also comes at a time when housing policy is at a crossroads. With the property market stagnant, the need for council houses, or shared ownership schemes, is increasing by the day.

It is why Connaught won a contract to revamp council housing in Hull and North Yorkshire, as well as a 28m tender to repair and maintain 12,000 properties which come under the auspices of Yorkshire Housing.

Yet what does it say about Britain's immediate prospects when such a company cannot prosper at a time when the need for its services has

never been greater?

Once again, it calls into question the lending practices of the banks, but, equally, it casts doubt about the pace of the Government's cuts – and whether they are becoming self-defeating.

Though Ed Balls, the Shadow Schools Secretary and West Yorkshire MP, will never win any popularity contest, he has been totally consistent with his assertion that infrastructure projects, like housing or transport schemes, still hold the key to economic recovery.

For, while some public funding is essential, it will help keep people in work, sustain the construction industry through these uncertain times – and recognise that the postponement of major capital projects will create even greater problems, both socially and economically, in the longer-term.