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Homelessness in the countryside is reaching record levels. Rural campaigners claim that the measures the government is at last introducing to tackle the waiting lists will prove just a drop in the ocean. Included in the government's remedy is a pledge to double the number of rural homes built every year with Housing Corporation grants, allowing councils to increase the tax on second homes and letting rural councils buy back former council homes. Each of these measures appears to be having less impact than it might, either because it is too diluted or because the local authorities themselves are not reinforcing it.

The shine, for example, has been taken off the approved development programme funding increase by the abolition of the local authority social housing grant, which was estimated to have delivered up to 600 rural homes a year. And why wasn't it made mandatory to charge full council tax on second homes and let the council use the money to fund new social housing?

Of course, rural communities can be their own worst enemies. Every housing association has a horror story about shortage of land or long-drawn-out sagas trying to get projects past nimby councils. Even greenfield sites earmarked for development are not coming forward because councils are sticking too rigidly to the rule of building on brownfield first. The sooner the Audit Commission gets to grips with this, the better.

Rural campaigners claim that the measures to tackle waiting lists will prove just a drop in the ocean

The Housing Corporation has doubled the percentage of grant to make rural developments affordable, but housing associations have to ask themselves if are they being inventive enough to bring in more money. Hastoe Housing Association's formation of a group to thrash out these issues is a welcome move.