Successive governments have failed to grasp the link between health and housing, a senior figure at the Housing Ombudsman Service has said. 

Polly Cox, the watchdog’s sector learning and development manager, told the Housing Community Summit in Liverpool today that she is waiting to see what the new government’s stance is on the ombudsman’s call for a royal commission. The ombudsman in January proposed the idea of creating a royal commission - which is independent of government - to “establish housing policy as a health intervention”