PM sets out draft legislative programme for next session 2009/2010 - Entitlements, more on Social Housing.
Trebled investment in Social Housing to just over £2 billions. Priority to shift to local people.
Will set out our entitlements across a range of public services. More away from targets.
Hereditary Peers to go. To create smaller democratic second chamber.
New sanction for those under 25 out of work for more than a year not taking up a job offer.
PDF version
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE: HIV CAPITAL GRANT FOR HIV RELATED HOUSING AND CAPITAL PROJECTS
11. Up until 2006/07 the Department’s support for HIV capital investment was operated under the Treasury approved Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) scheme, which was introduced on 1 April 2004. SCE (R) gave local authorities permission to borrow funds at reasonable rates of interest, and did not involve any direct Departmental expenditure. In response to local authority bids, and based on merit, rather than strict caseload, funding was targeted at supporting HIV related capital schemes, with first priority given to the purchasing and refurbishing of properties, with appropriate support services to allow people living with the virus to live independently in the community in line with the overall Government approach. In December 2006, based on the same underpinning principles, the SCE was reconfigured as a fully-fledged capital grant.
12. In 2009/10 £3.1 million will again be made available as ring fenced HIV Capital Grant and authorities are invited to bid for HIV/AIDS related capital projects by 17 July 2009 on the application form at Annex C. Action plans for consideration may include contributions to schemes jointly financed with Primary Care Trusts or schemes to be run by the independent or voluntary sectors where the local authority is making a contribution, or sponsoring the scheme. All bids will be judged on merit and how well they fit into the service development and strategic HIIV social care plans in sponsoring authorities. However, in 2009/10 particular priority will again be given to housing schemes that enable people with HIV/AIDS to live as independently as possible within the wider community. There can be no guarantee that all requests for support can be met either in full or in part.
13. In line with the freedoms for high performers, authorities will be allowed to use HIV Capital Grant issued by the Department for any capital purpose. Note that the basis of allocation is the same as for other authorities.
and quote DWP dated June 2009 (reference FOI 1096)
Within the Department, the Office for Disability issues (ODI) leads on equality issues for disabled people. The ODI published the Government’s “Independent Living Strategy” in March 2008, which sets out the detailed policy commitments that seek to make independent living a reality for more disabled people. The aim of the five year Independent Living Strategy is that:
- disabled people who need support to go about their daily lives will have greater choice and control over how support is provided
- disabled people will have greater access to housing, transport, health, employment, education and leisure opportunities and to participation in family and community life.
The December 2008 White Paper, Reforming Welfare to Reward Responsibility, set out plans for the ‘right to control’, which will increase choice and control for disabled adults by allowing them to choose how selected state funding is used to meet agreed outcomes. The Welfare Reform Bill (currently before Parliament) contains the regulation-making powers needed to make this possible. The policy will initially be tested in a small number of trailblazing local authority areas in
Plans to boost the supply of social housing outlined by Gordon Brown on Monday are to be spelt out later.
In a speech in Harrogate, housing minister John Healey is due to announce to local government leaders the outcome of a council housing finance review.
Changes could see councils returning to large-scale home building.
Mr Brown announced a consultation was under way to decide whether to allow councils to keep all the money raised from council house sales and rent.
In the Commons on Monday, the prime minister also proposed to let councils in England give local people more priority on housing waiting lists.
'Unmet demand'
Currently, council tenants' rent and proceeds from right-to-buy sales go into a national pot for redistribution.
Some councils get money back while others have to pay a negative subsidy to the government.
But if ministers support plans to let councils keep their money locally, councils may be able to build and repair more homes.
In the past two decades, very few homes have been built by councils as housing associations have been the main providers of social housing.
BBC
local government correspondent John Andrew said he did not expect a return to the kind of mass council house building in the 1950s and 1960s.
But the latest measures would go some way to meeting the huge unmet demand for social housing as the number on housing waiting lists approaches 5 million, our correspondent added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8125663.stm
Equality legislation would torpedo plans to give local people greater priority on waiting lists for council housing, the Conservatives have warned.
The prime minister has told MPs he wants to allow councils to give additional preference to locals.
But Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said the measure was a "sham" as it would be illegal under existing law and the forthcoming Equality Bill.
The funding of a £1.5bn building programme has also been questioned.
Details of the plans are due to be spelled out by housing minister John Healey, in a speech in Harrogate.
'Unable to deliver'
On Monday Gordon Brown pledged to "reform social housing allocation - enabling local authorities to give more priority to local people whose names have been on waiting lists for far too long".
The announcement was seen, in part, as a response to the growth in a few traditional Labour areas of BNP support.
But Mr Shapps said it would be scuppered by a new duty to tackle socio-economic disadvantage when making "strategic decisions" included in the Equality Bill, due to be piloted by Commons leader Harriet Harman.
 |
 We are cutting off our nose to spite our face  Austin Mitchell MP
 |
He added that existing law also required councils to give "reasonable preference" to the homeless, people in overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing, and those with welfare or medical problems.
Mr Shapps said Mr Brown's remarks were merely "spin" which had been "pitched at Labour's disillusioned core vote".
He added: "Under existing legislation and Harman's new equality law, local people will not have priority for local homes.
"Housing waiting list policies need reform and we need more affordable homes. But Labour are unable to deliver the change we need."
Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Sarah Teather said Downing Street's "desperation for headlines" meant they were "robbing Peter to pay Paul".
She added: "We urgently need to build more social homes but cutting the Decent Homes budget is the politics of illusion. We need a real injection of finance into social housing."
Row denied
Meanwhile, Austin Mitchell, who chairs the all-party group on council housing, has warned that money for improving existing council houses must not be diverted to pay for 20,000 extra new homes promised by Gordon Brown.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been told to find half of the £1.5bn cost and has refused to rule out taking some from its Decent Homes Initiative.
Mr Mitchell said: "I am not happy at all that money will be transferred.
"The Decent Homes Initiative is an effort to meet the manifesto commitment of 2005 to make every council house and social house a decent house.
"Councils have been so squeezed financially that they are not able to complete the programme.
"We are cutting off our nose to spite our face."
'Re-prioritised'
Underspends in other Whitehall departments are to be used to pay for the rest of the cost of building the new homes, which was a key part of a raft of new policies announced on Monday, seen as an attempt to relaunch the government.
The Times reported the DCLG had refused to accept it would foot half the bill - but Downing Street has said reports of a row over where the money will come from are "simply untrue" and there was an agreement.
But a spokesman said the DCLG had still to finalise the details of how this money was to be "re-prioritised" from within its budget.
A DCLG spokesman denied any rift with Number 10 over the funding but said it was not yet ready to announce exactly where it would find the money.
A further £750m is due to come from under spending by other government departments, including health and the Home Office.
Housing minister John Healey will explain to council leaders later the outcome of a council housing finance review.
Mr Brown told MPs on Monday the government was consulting on whether to allow councils to keep all the money raised from council house sales and rent.
BBC local government correspondent John Andrew said he did not expect a return to the kind of mass council house building seen in the 1950s and 1960s.
But he said it would go some way to meeting the huge unmet demand for social housing as the number on housing waiting lists approaches five million.
Commission research finds no bias in allocation of social housing to immigrants
07 July 2009
NEWS RELEASE
Embargoed until 00:01hrs on 07 July 2009
The vast majority of people who live in social housing in Britain were born in the UK according to a research study published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission today. The study found that less than two per cent of all social housing residents are people who have moved to Britain in the last five years and that nine out of ten people who live in social housing were born in the UK.
The independent research, which was undertaken for the Commission by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), found that social housing policies are targeting those in most need including the homeless, the elderly and families with children.
It found no evidence to support the perception that new migrants are getting priority over UK born residents. Nor was there any evidence of abuse of the system, including 'queue jumping' or providing false information.
The research shows that within UK-born and Foreign-Born communities the proportion of people living in social housing is similar at around one in six people. It also reveals that many more recent migrants, those who have arrived in the past five years, have bought their own homes (17 per cent) than live in social housing (11 per cent).
Most new migrants to the UK over the last five years, particularly from the newer European Union member states such as Poland, have been ineligible to claim entitlement to social housing as they do not meet the criteria set by national legislation. Only new migrants who are a European Economic Area worker, have been given ‘settled’ or ‘refugee’ status by the Home Office, or have leave to remain in the UK, are eligible for social housing.
Despite the evidence, the public has a different perception of who gets priority for social housing. Focus group discussions held as part of the project exposed widely-held fears that the allocation process puts white British families at a disadvantage and that migrants are ‘cheating the system’. This myth is often at the core of discriminatory behaviour and contributes to tension and violence in many areas.
The report identifies a number of factors which could be contributing to these perceptions, including:
- The belief that privately owned flats in blocks which were previously social housing are still “owned by the council”;
- New developments often include social housing as well as privately owned accommodation with little visual difference between the two;
- The Borders Agency is using empty social housing to accommodate asylum seekers temporarily, which may be fuelling the idea that they are ‘queue jumping’
- Some ex-local authority, mixed-tenure housing association and key-worker homes have high numbers of residents from particular ethnic groups – for example hospital and care home workers;
- Clusters of people of the same background living in a neighbourhood may serve to entrench beliefs about unfair advantages.
The reduction in the social housing stock as existing tenants exercise their right to buy; fewer new builds over the last few decade and the increase in the number of households in the UK, caused by greater life-expectancy, marital breakdown and to a lesser extent, immigration have all led to increased demand for social housing.
The report recommends that public concerns about the effects of migration on housing should be addressed by policy makers at a local level. It also suggests that more needs to be done to increase people’s understanding of entitlement to social housing, as the lack of transparency in the process may perpetuate the belief that the system itself is unfair.
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission, said: “We have to recognise that people’s perceptions are powerful, so it’s vital that social housing providers and policy makers work to foster understanding about what is really happening on the ground. Much of the public concern about the impact of migration on social housing has, at its heart, the failure of social housing supply to meet the demands of the population. The poorer the area, the longer the waiting lists, therefore the greater the tension. Government and social housing providers need to work with the communities they serve to address these issues.”
-Ends-
For more information please contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission media office on 020 3117 0255 or out of hours on 07767 272 818.
Notes to editors
- A copy of the report Social housing allocation and immigrant communities can be downloaded here.
- These findings are based on work by the Institute for Public Policy Research which included social housing policies in England, an analysis of Labour Force Survey and other data, a survey of the social housing allocation policies of 50 selected local authority and interview with a small number of housing officials, and re-analysis of four focus groups.
- The present criteria for allocating social housing are outlined in the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Housing Act 2002 and the Housing Act 2004. This legislation says that a number of groups of people should be given priority including the homeless and priority needs groups, such as families with children and the elderly. Immigration status affects entitlement to social housing. Broadly, to be eligible, migrants need settled status, or be a European Economic Area worker, or have refugee status or leave to remain in the UK. Most new migrants have no entitlement to social housing.
- Housing tenure by country of birth, Labour Force Survey, 2007. Figures referred to in the press release are in bold.
Housing type by country of birth
|
Place of birth by housing type |
UK born |
Foreign born |
Foreign born & arrived in the UK in the past five years |
|
Owner occupier |
92.0% |
7.4% |
0.6% |
|
Social tenant |
87.8% |
10.0% |
1.8% |
|
Private tenant |
58.3% |
25.5% |
16.2% |
|
Other |
69.2% |
19.6% |
11.2% |
Country of birth by housing type
|
Place of birth by housing type |
UK born |
Foreign born |
Foreign born & arrived in the UK in the past five years |
|
Owner occupier |
74.1% |
51.4% |
16.6% |
|
Social tenant |
17.3% |
17.8% |
11.6% |
|
Private tenant |
7.1% |
26.9% |
63.6% |
|
Other |
1.6% |
3.9% |
8.2% |
- The Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/research-finds-no-bias-i...
Our aim is to secure and implement an effective legislative and regulatory framework for equality and human rights, as well as our powers in a targeted manner and that covers all the areas in our equality and human rights remit. We also aim to influence on key legislative and policy developments including the new Equality Bill, the proposed Bill of Rights and the EU Article 13 Directive that will help to strengthen domestic legal protection.
Details of existing legislation and resources for legal advisers can be found within the advice and guidance section.
The British government has published its consultation on "fairness and flexibility" in housing allocations. It comes a month after the prime minister pledged to "reform social housing allocation, enabling local authorities to give more priority to local people, whose names have been on waiting lists for far too long".
However, the publication is as much about who shouldn't be in social housing in the first place as it is about who should be on housing waiting lists. This approach – focusing on existing supply (and how to make better use of it) as well as demand is welcomed.
The central tenet of the consultation focuses on a crackdown on those people who cheat the system – "residents" of local housing associations and councils who unlawfully sub-let their properties to others to make a profit. According to the government, in pockets of the UK as many as one in 20 properties are being abused in this way. If accurate it's an astonishing and lamentable collective failure by those of us who work in the sector to make optimal use of their housing stock. These properties could be used to house homeless families. Based on reports, the government estimates that as many as 10,000 homes could be freed up for use by those genuinely in need. A £4m pot is being created, which compliant housing associations can dip into to roll out anti-fraud initiatives.
This is good, and taking a tough line on those who are in it for a quick buck should be applauded. However, it is an important issue that deserves far greater detailed examination and a far more nuanced approach than the headlines might suggest.
To share our experience, in all our Circle Anglia homes we already take a tough stance on illegal sub-letting. We audit 20% of our stock each year to ensure that the person living in the property is the person with whom we have a tenancy agreement. If this is not the case we take action. It's something that all local authorities and housing associations should already be doing. The G15 group of London's largest housing associations has already raised the profile through its "offer" to local authorities on tackling homelessness, which includes giving priority to recovering homes that are being illegally sub-let, so they can be let to those in housing need. So housing associations are already acting to stamp this practice out.
We do of course recognise that those who are sub-letting are often unaware of their illegal status and are in housing need. That's why increasing the supply of affordable housing remains a key objective and we are finding ways to continue to do so in the face of the credit crunch.
Also, it may be naive to assume that all people who sub-let do so for financial gain. Some people are driven to rent their property illegally so that they can take up employment in other areas, forcing them to move to places where they are not on a local council waiting list and where they have to pay market-rate rents. It is easy to apply for a job in one part of the country but it is often much harder to find a transfer for your tenancy. I would never condone illegal sub-letting by anybody – regardless of their motivation – but it does mean that when we develop policy solutions it's important to examine both sides of the coin.
Housing associations like Circle Anglia are looking at creative and innovative ways to address these labour mobility issues, helping to free up properties at a very low cost, empowering residents to find work, move homes, swap properties and generally developing a series of programmes to lubricate the system a little more so that more houses are available for rent and families can move to properties and areas that better suit their needs. We see this as a major part of our mission to enhance life chances for our residents. From House Exchange Direct – an online house-swapping site that enables people to literally swap their property with any other housing association tenant in the country, to our innovative scheme at Circle 33 (part of Circle Anglia), which is tackling housing need among its existing tenants in London by opening up a wider range of options. These include financial incentives to tenants to downsize into smaller properties; creating larger family homes by reversing the conversion of bedsits and flats; extending and adapting existing properties to meet the changing needs of families; and offering market-rent deposits and hard-to-let homes to adult sons and daughters living in overcrowded homes.
Housing associations developing innovative approaches can do much to help free up existing housing stock and government should do everything to encourage innovation at a local level, as well as offering policy solutions from the centre.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/02/housing-allocation-a...
LGA press release - 31 July 2009
Commenting on the Government’s proposals for a crackdown on housing fraud, Cllr Paul Bettison, the Local Government Association spokesperson on housing, said: “It is good news that the Government is helping councils in their ongoing drive to crack down on fraud and ensure that people in council housing have a right to live there.
“Councils are best placed to decide how housing is allocated in their area and are committed to ensuring that the system is fair, and seen to be fair.
“New rules will give local authorities more freedoms over who gets local priority will help them ensure that people have confidence that decisions on housing are fair and meet local needs.
"A crackdown on subletting will free up council houses for people who need them, but it will not solve the problem of housing shortages on its own. Demand for council housing massively outstrips supply. It is good news that the Government will consult on major reform of council house finance. The LGA is campaigning hard for town halls to keep control of proceeds from council house rents and sales that could deliver 300,000 new homes in the next decade."
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=2707072
Hundreds of thousands of council homes have been branded unfit to live in.
Nearly one in five have been classed "non-decent". In total 714,000 were cold, draughty, leaky or lacking "reasonably modern facilities".
The Government says this is down on the 2.1 million in need of work when they came to power.
But critics blasted the figure and said it could rise again because of cuts in council budgets.
The Lib Dems claim £150million is being cut from the Decent Homes Programme and £75million from the Private Sector Renewal Scheme. Sarah Teather, their housing spokesman, said: "Labour has abandoned the people who need most help.
"It is simply unacceptable that hundreds of thousands must live in run-down, crowded, cold and draughty housing."
"It condemns thousands to continue living in poor housing.
"Improvements have been a long-standing Government promise that must be seen through."
Meanwhile tenants in buy-to-let property are to get new rights to protect them from instant eviction if their homes are repossessed from hard-up landlords. Housing minister John Healey says they will get two months' warning before a notice to quit is issued. At present tenants can be out on the street in a matter of days through no fault of their own.
Mr Healey said: "This will give much-needed breathing space. But I also want to see more lenders use alternatives to repossession."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/06/1-in-5-council-homes...
http://www.sigmaresearch.org.uk/go.php/reports/report2009e/
Duration: April 2007 - May 2009
Sigma Research was funded by Terrence Higgins Trust to co-ordinate the development of a framework to address the health, social care, support and information needs of people with diagnosed HIV in England. It has now been published as the Framework for better living with HIV in England.
The over-arching goal of the framework is that all people with diagnosed HIV in England "are enabled to have the maximum level of health, well-being, quality of life and social integration". In its explanation of how this should occur the document presents a road map for social care, support and information provision to people with diagnosed HIV in England. By establishing and communicating aims and objectives, the framework should build consensus and provide a means to establish how interventions could be prioritised and coordinated. The key drivers for the framework were clearly articulated ethical principles, agreed by all those who sign up to it, and an inclusive social development / health promotion approach.
Sigma Research worked on the framework with a range of other organisations who sent representatives to a Framework Development Group (see below for membership). The framework is evidence-based and seeks to:
- Promote and protect the rights and well-being of all people with HIV in England.
- Maximise the capacity of individuals and groups of people with HIV to care for, advocate and represent themselves effectively.
- Improve and protect access to appropriate information, social support, social care and clinical services.
- Minimise social, economic, governmental and judicial change detrimental to the health and well being of people with HIV.
Alongside the development of the framework, Sigma Research undertook a national needs assessment among people with diagnosed HIV across the UK called What do you need?. These two projects informed and supported each other.
Framework Development Group included:
African HV Policy Network
Black Health Agency
George House Trust
NAM
NAT (National AIDS Trust)
Positively Women
Terrence Higgins Trust
Key contact:
Widespread media reports suggest that migrants receive priority in the allocation of social housing, and in doing so displace non-migrants. The Equality and Human Rights Commission decided to commission research to look at the facts behind these stories and to examine the allocation of social housing in England.
The research asked three questions:
- Who is entitled to social housing?
- Who receives social housing?
- Do some groups have unfair access to social housing?
This study is set in the context of increased international immigration to the UK and a reduction in social housing stock. Although international migration has always been a feature of national life, this aspect of population change has increased substantially since the early 1990s.
The UK population has passed 61 million for the first time, according to the Office for National Statistics.
There were 408,000 more people living in the UK in 2008, taking the population to 61.4 million.
For the first time in almost a decade, changes in birth and death rates have overtaken immigration as the biggest factor affecting population growth.
Overall migration levels - the numbers of people arriving minus those leaving - fell by 44% to 118,000.
This is the lowest level since EU enlargement.
The ONS said this latest increase in population was the biggest in nearly 50 years.
In 1962 the population rose by 484,000 and in 1947 population levels rose by 551,000.
There are now 1.3 million people aged over 85, a record number, who make up 2% of the total population.
|
The British people can be confident that immigration is under control Immigration Minister Phil Woolas
|
There were 791,000 babies born in the UK last year, an increase of 33,000 on 2007, and a figure which is almost twice the rise recorded at the start of this decade.
The population is now growing by 0.7% every year, more than double the rate in the 1990s and three times the level of the 1980s.
'Strong borders'
Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:"The fall in net migration is further proof that migrants come to the UK for short periods of time, work, contribute to the economy and then return home.
"Our new flexible points-based system gives us greater control on those coming to work or study from outside Europe, ensuring that only those that Britain need can come.
"Britain's borders are stronger than ever before. Our border controls in northern France are stopping record numbers of migrants reaching our shores - 28,000 in 2008.
"The British people can be confident that immigration is under control."
|
Migration goes in cycles. It's now declining sharply Tim Finch,
Institute for Public Policy Research |
But shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: "These figures show our population is still rising fast, even when the recession is driving hundreds of thousands of people to leave.
"This puts added pressure on housing and transport, and shows that there is still no proper control over immigration numbers."
Scaremongering
Tim Finch from the left-leaning think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, said migration flows go in cycles.
"It is now declining sharply - almost certainly because of a combination of the economic downturn, the short term nature of much migration from new EU countries, and the impact of stronger controls put in place by the government.
"There has been a lot of irresponsible scaremongering about immigration in recent years which was based on the false assumption that high migration was inevitable for years to come."
But a group of MPs, the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration, said the population would continue to grow by millions of people.
The Labour MP Frank Field and Tory Nicholas Soames issued a joint statement, saying the fall in net migration may well be temporary.
"Even at the present level of immigration, we are still on target for the UK's population to exceed 70 million within 25 years," they said.
"There are no laurels to rest on. The need for firm measures on immigration is unchanged. The public clearly understand this."
Donna Covey from the Refugee Council said the government had to keep the door open to genuine asylum seekers.
"We must make sure that the focus on strengthening Britain's borders does not prevent people fleeing for their lives from getting to safety here in the UK," she said.
The Tories say they would give council house tenants "unprecedented" power to improve their neighbourhoods, if they win power at the next election.
Scrapping some housing targets and giving residents control of improvement schemes could bring dramatic progress, housing minister Grant Shapps said.
A cleaned-up neighbourhood was as vital to tackling crime and health problems as decent homes, he said.
Labour said it had given tenants the powers and money to make improvements.
Quality of life
More than £33bn has been spent on upgrading social housing since 1997, 60% of it government money, to ensure it meets acceptable standards for warmth, insulation and facilities.
In a speech in London, Mr Shapps acknowledged that under Labour many of the UK's council estates had been transformed by innovative design improvements.
|
It is about putting power back in the hands of people for whom the community, or lack of it, is everything Grant Shapps, Tory housing spokesman
|
However, he said the focus on the internal design and contents of houses, driven by government targets, had meant the quality of life in surrounding areas had often been neglected.
As a consequence, many estates were plagued by anti-social behaviour and an intimidating atmosphere, he said.
"Unfortunately, this rather blunt, target-oriented approach directed by Whitehall hasn't taken account of what really matters to people on the ground.
"A new front door won't improve life for families who are too afraid to walk out of it. And a new fitted bathroom is not going to clean up the local neighbourhood."
Partnerships
The Tories are promising to give council tenants new powers to shape their neighbourhoods according to their own needs, rather than relying on remote planning decisions.
A future Tory government would encourage partnerships between residents' groups, councils and housing associations to ensure tenants had a voice in regeneration decisions from the start and could access funds for improvements themselves, Mr Shapps said.
These could involve the better use of existing housing units or, in some cases, the demolition of buildings.
He cited the example of a council estate in Powys which had been "turned around" by the efforts of local residents in cleaning up living spaces and tackling social problems head-on.
"Residents should have a greater role in determining the nature and speed of regeneration," he told the BBC.
"It is about putting power back in the hands of people for whom the community, or lack of it, is everything."
Ministers said the quality of housing was essential to the reputation of an area and the living standards of residents.
They said the number of council houses which fail to meet acceptable standards had halved since 2001 - a million homes having been modernised - with 95% of accommodation expected to make the grade by next year.
"It is quite right local communities themselves, not central government, set their own long term vision, joining up regeneration plans for new jobs, homes, transport and other investment," a spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said.
"Since 1997 this government has given them the powers and funding to do just that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8232030.stm
Hundreds of council tenants could be moved out of London to free up family-sized homes in the city centre.
Single people in homes with more than one bedroom will be "encouraged" to relocate to smaller houses as far away as the Midlands.
The move is part of a £10million plan by Boris Johnson to beat a housing crisis that is forcing large families to live in "shoe-box" flats.
He is targeting people aged over 55 and claims they will be offered £100,000 properties in the country or by the sea. Initially about 100 people could be moved.
The Mayor has promised to provide 50,000 affordable homes by 2011 through a combination of new builds, renovation and this scheme.
Today, his housing adviser, Rick Blakeway, said there was "an acute need" for homes in London caused by years of councils' budget mismanagement, a lack of new family homes and an ageing population.
A recent report by the Local Government Information Unit commissioned by Westminster council found there are 50,000 overcrowded homes in London, with many families sleeping more than two to a room.
Overcrowding has been linked to health problems, stress, family breakdown and educational underachievement. But Mr Johnson's move has provoked a furious backlash as it emerged that people may be asked to move away from their families and communities.
A spokeswoman for charity Age Concern said: "Often a familiar home is a very cherished place for an elderly person, especially if they had a lot of happy memories. We know that elderly people are often very reluctant to leave, especially if they have a strong support network in the area. And often people suffer physically from the stress and can even die."
Mr Blakeway said: "The idea is to acquire attractive homes outside the capital in desirable places. Sometimes a family might move into a property and they can have that house for several years while children grow up and fly the nest.
"Meanwhile, you've got families living in just a couple of rooms. We hope people with families outside London might be keen to apply as well as those that might want a more relaxing pace of life." Larger homes for social rent are in very short supply in London. In Croydon even the highest priority households will wait an average of three years for a three-bedroom home, while in Newham the average wait is 10 years.
The London Seaside and Country Homes Scheme was first suggested by members of the former Greater London Council in 1970 although only those over 60 could apply. It has since been suggested by Labour, with former housing minister Yvette Cooper calling for the scheme to be introduced in major cities two years ago.
The cash for the Mayor's programme was agreed by the Home and Communities Agency, chaired by Mr Johnson, on Monday.
Mr Blakeway said a new scheme to allow families to purchase "cut-price" homes if their income fell beneath £74,000, rather than the current level of £60,000, would also reassure developers there were more people in the market for larger properties.
The move comes as it emerged some cash-strapped councils are selling off properties cheaply at auction to fund repairs to the rest of the housing stock.Earlier this month it was revealed that Lambeth is auctioning houses to developers who can then make tens of thousands of pounds' profit.
The council, which is facing a fraud investigation into a £22million overspend of housing budgets, sold a property for £128,000 in February. Six months later it has gone on the market for £215,000, making the seller a potential profit of £87,000.
I don't want to leave ... not for any money'
Irene Taylor has lived in her three-bedroom home on a council estate in Westminster since 1977 and said she would not move even if she was offered a cottage by the sea. The 83-year-old brought up her three children in the property and says she cannot imagine living anywhere else.
“I'm part of the furniture,” she said. “I don't want to move, not for any money or any property. I was one of the first people in to these houses and I couldn't go now. I'm perfectly happy. I've been through a lot here and I've got my daughter around the corner who comes and looks after me.
“I need my family around me and all that's familiar. The space also means people can come and stay — I wouldn't have that in a one-bed, however pretty the location. No, I don't ever want to move.”
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23750439-boris-wants-to-m...
So first the elderly then the disabled I am guessing. Couple this with Hammersmith & Fulham's (my borough) approach to evicting established communities by selling off housing estates to private developers without a guarantee that those evicted will be rehoused in the borough. Which by the way has a housing shortage like every other council. That the Conservative Leader is a strong advisor to David Cameron on Social Housing. Where the plans are to increase council rents to "market levels" and remove security of tenure for many vulnerable people by replacing it with a "two months" notice plan.
Is social housing safe in there hands?
Applying for a council home
* Housing allocation - points system
* Housing allocation - rehousing decision appeals
* Registering for a council property
Home exchange and mobility schemes
* Exchanging council homes
* Finding another socially rented home
Housing associations
* Affordable housing through housing associations
* Housing associations - how to apply
Council tenancies
* Council housing - tenancy issues
* Housing allocation - general information
* More about council housing
Repairs to council homes
* Council tenants - your right to repairs
* Improvements and adaptations to a council property
* Housing repairs - communal areas and services
* More about repairs to council homes
Council rent, parking and other charges
* Paying your council rent
* Parking on council estates
* More about council rent, parking and other charges
See also...
* Beginners guide to benefits (money, tax and benefits section)
* Looking for work (employment section)
* Health services (health and well-being section)
* Choosing a school (education and learning section)
* Caring and support services (caring for someone section)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/SocialHousingAndCareHomes/i...
Social housing is housing that is let at low rents and on a secure basis to people in housing need. It is generally provided by councils and not-for-profit organisations such as housing associations.
Social housing provides affordable housing
A key function of social housing is to provide accommodation that is affordable to people on low incomes. Rents in the social housing sector are kept low through state subsidy. The social housing sector is currently governed by a strictly defined system of rent control to ensure that rents are kept affordable.
Social housing is allocated on the basis of need
Unlike the private rental sector, in which tenancies are offered according to the free choice of the landlord or existing household in question, social housing is allocated according to need.
Each social landlord operates an allocations policy, stating in advance what factors will be taken into account when deciding who gets preference for the limited amount of social housing on offer. These policies must include 'reasonable preference criteria' that are set out in law, but beyond this, allocations policies can be drawn up at the discretion of the social landlord.
Social housing is owned and managed by social landlords
Social landlords are the bodies that own and manage social housing. They tend to be non-commercial organisations such as local authorities or housing associations. Housing associations are independent, not-for-profit organisations that use any surpluses they generate to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones. It is now possible for commercial organisations to build and manage social housing, although this is not yet common practice.
Social housing is tightly regulated
Social housing and landlords are tightly regulated. The Government department currently responsible for overseeing the social housing sector is Communities and Local Government (CLG). CLG has direct oversight of local authority housing. Housing associations are funded by the Government through the Homes and Communities Agency, which is responsible for the construction of new social homes.
Shelter's view
Shelter believes that any definition of social housing must include the requirement for all social housing to offer:
- low rents affordable for people working on the minimum wage
- security of tenure for life.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_issues/Improving_social_housing/wh...
http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_issues/Improving_social_housing/wh...
http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_issues/Improving_social_housing/Wh...
This section outlines key local authority/social housing management roles and responsibilities. This information will be of most interest to social housing providers, and tenants/residents interested in housing management, but also includes information (particularly on empty homes) which is relevant to private landlords.
In this section
- Housing allocation
- Social housing fraud
- Choice-Based Lettings
- Tolerated trespassers
- Housing mobility
- Enhanced Housing Options
- Local authority housing management
- Anti-social behaviour and housing
- Tenant participation and empowerment
- Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
- Empty homes
- Housing Consents
- Social housing efficiency
- Housing and Older People
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingmanagementcare/
A look at the role of social housing for four generations of families since the Second World War.
This study describes how housing for families has changed over time and explores the relationship between social housing, family circumstances and the 'adult outcomes' for children who grew up in social housing – i.e. their experiences when they are adults.
The report and summary from this study is published by the Tenant Services Authority and supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Public spending priorities and cuts will be announced in this autumn’s pre-Budget report, Alistair Darling indicated on Sunday, as he revealed he was calling ministers into the Treasury for “very robust” discussions.
Speaking to journalists in Istanbul, the chancellor attacked Conservative plans to cut spending for 2010 and reform welfare as “downright daft” and completely contrary to the international consensus at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, held in the Turkish city at the weekend.
“To end support for the economy and scrap the new deal seem to me to be entirely wrong and that approach is downright daft,” he said.
With David Cameron on Sunday insisting that spending cuts have “got to start earlier than the government currently plans [April 2011]”, the main political parties are now far apart on the most important issue facing Britain’s economy and politics: when and how to cut the gaping budget deficit, which stands at £175bn – the largest ever in peacetime.
The Tories will use their party conference this week to set out more detail on their plans to “start to address the deficit now”, Mr Cameron told the BBC. But the Conservative party leader repeatedly refused to be drawn on how many public sector job losses such wide-scale spending cuts would entail, stating: “We want to do this in a way that avoids frontline cuts. We want to do this in a way that avoids job losses.”
In a sign of the potential Tory tensions over where the spending axe will fall, Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, will on Monday call on his party’s leadership to spare Crossrail, the £16bn proposed rail link across the capital.
The state of Britain
Government spend accounts for almost half the UK economy. See how it has grown in this interactive feature
He is expected to argue that the £5bn of savings identified in Transport for London’s budget without cutting frontline staff is a model for tackling the national deficit.
“Get rid of the nonsense but don’t drop the infrastructure,” Mr Johnson told the Financial Times on Sunday.
While both parties agree on the politically attractive formula of protecting frontline services from cuts, neither has so far indicated in any detail how to bring spending down from its current level of 48 per cent of national income.
Mr Darling’s existing public spending proposals already represent the biggest departmental budget cuts in a generation. After unavoidable debt interest and social security payments, Treasury figures show departments will have to slice 8.6 per cent from their budgets in real terms in the three years from 2011.
On Sunday, the chancellor made clear that he and the Treasury have reverted to their traditional tough scrutiny of departmental budgets after years of splashing taxpayers money.
“We’re being very robust with our colleagues. At a time like this we have to ensure we take robust measures to get borrowing down; all my colleagues are fully signed up to that,” he said, adding that he was forcing ministers to state “what are the priorities and what are frontline services”.
With public finances so bad, Mr Darling also gave no ground to retailers, who have called for an extension to the temporary reduction in value added tax past the end of December.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/901e4ef4-b131-11de-b06b-00144feabdc0.html
Summary
The Review of Council Housing Finance and Rents policy was launched in March 2008. The Review was jointly undertaken by Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury with extensive input from stakeholders. This consultation seeks views on the Government's preferred option for the future of council housing finance.
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Related publications
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Review of council housing finance: Impact assessment
- Published: 21 July 2009
- Site: Housing
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Review of council housing finance: Summary of commissioned research
- Published: 21 July 2009
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Review of the major repairs allowance
- Published: 21 July 2009
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Tenants' attitudes towards council housing finance and rents policy: to inform the review of council housing finance
- Published: 21 July 2009
- Site: Housing
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Review of council housing finance: Analysis of rents
- Published: 21 July 2009
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Evaluation of management and maintenance costs in local authority housing: Report of findings
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http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/councilhousingconsult...
Here are the key points of the government's draft legislative programme for the year ahead announced by Gordon Brown:
JOBS
People under 25 unemployed for a year will be guaranteed the offer of a job or training. In return they will face having their benefits cut or taken away if those offers are refused.
ECONOMY
New fund to support carbon capture storage technology. £150m innovation fund to invest in bio-science and high-tech manufacturing.
HOUSING
Housing budget to be trebled to £2.1bn. Target to build 110,000 new affordable homes. Local authorities to be given more power to award council house places according to need and local connections.
FINANCE
New tax code for banks
HEALTH
Cancer patients to get guarantee that they will get consultation within two weeks. Guarantee for a free health check for all over-40s
EDUCATION
Guarantee for one-to-one personal tutors for children at primary and secondary schools. Guarantee for catch-up one to one tuition for those who need it.
POLICE
People to have a say over siting and use of CCTV.
LORDS REFORM
Legislation to remove remaining hereditary peers in Lords. Proposals to reduce size of Lords and "democratise" it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8124818.stm
Published: 2009/06/29 14:52:22 GMT
© BBC MMIX