Government defended the decision to conduct a housing poll yesterday, saying the poll results will assist in the five year housing plan it is currently developing.

Acting Housing Minister Walter Lister spoke out after Shadow Housing Minister Wayne Furbert attacked Government in the press yesterday, calling the poll with questions such as “What does Government need to do to address the housing problem?” a waste of the taxpayers' money and evidence of how out of touch the PLP Government is with the people of Bermuda.

He also offered his own answer to that particular question: for Government to “get out of the way” and let the UBP get on with its own Housing Plan, which it has detailed on several previous occasions. However yesterday Mr. Lister said Government was developing its own plan and that the poll was an integral part of that.

“There is a wealth of statistical data available to the Minister on these issues and I am confident that it is reliable and accurate,” he said.

“However, in an effect to ensure that we leave no stone unturned, the value of public input can never be underestimated. As such, the Ministry commissioned a research organisation to gather the necessary and accurate information on this matter.”

During the 2005/06 Budget Debate, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent announced the formation of a committee to draft a Five-Year Master Plan for Housing.

Yesterday Mr. Lister reiterated that the hand-picked team was comprised of individuals from the Ministry of Housing, the Planning Department, and the Ministry's quangos.

A comprehensive housing plan is already underway, he said, and the poll in question forms an integral part of that plan. “The plan will detail and include all land requirements, funding issues, construction methods, delivery methods, and the housing needs assessment information gathered through research,” he said.

It will detail all housing initiatives under the Government quangos and the Ministry of Works, Engineering and Housing.

“This Government has not wavered on its commitment to address the issues of affordable and available housing,” Mr. Lister said.

The data from the poll had not been compiled for release yesterday, a Ministry spokeswoman said.