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Patrick Mooney News Editor


An uncertain future for council housing


Patrick Mooney, News Editor


The skill and art of a dignified compromise appears to have been forgotten by our politicians who have been at loggerheads over the Housing & Planning Bill until time eventually ran out. The House of Lords (and Bob Kerslake in particular) eventually gave in to the inevitable and stopped tabling amendments, so the Bill could become an Act. In fairness to them, it’s clear the Lords were trying to improve a bill that they saw as flawed, with the potential for


making inequalities in housing worse. Ministers say they have a mandate to tackle the housing crisis, their critics say the ‘solution’ will intensify it. The Prime Minister even entered the fray by saying his opponents were the enemies of aspiration. This is more


than a bit harsh on Lord Kerslake and other peers like Lord Best. They expressed understandable fears that social homes sold under statutory and voluntary right to buy policies will not be replaced on a like for like basis. In recent years, official figures show the best we have managed is one new council or housing association home


for every nine homes that have been sold. And council house stock numbers are already at a low point and continuing to fall.


In a rush


The Chartered Institute of Housing’s head honcho Terrie Alafat is well known for taking a non-combative stance to problems. Like Lord Kerslake she was until recently a senior civil servant and clearly knows that Ministers do not like being opposed in public. When she lobbies the Government, she does so in private, behind closed doors. But even Ms Alafat was driven to distraction and criticised the Bill’s authors, saying they must have written


the new law in a hurry with insufficient time allowed for consultation, or thinking through the consequences of certain actions. We must not forget that much of the Bill’s content, particularly in terms of tackling rogue landlords and


improving conditions in the private rented sector, has been warmly welcomed across the housing sector. It has received almost universal support from politicians and housing professionals alike, including the CIH. Many thousands of people will also benefit from the Government’s drive to encourage more home ownership, whether through Starter Homes or giving housing association tenants a right to buy their home.


Calculations But a continuing concern is that we have never seen the calculations to demonstrate (let alone prove!) that the money raised from forcing councils to sell higher value homes will adequately fund a replacement council home in addition to funding the extension of the right to buy scheme to housing association tenants. In a damning report MPs on the Public Accounts Committee recently said that not only had the Government


failed to produce their back of the envelope calculations, there was no envelope! In addition Shelter estimated 23,500 council homes will need to be sold each year in order to fund the discounts offered to housing association tenants. The Lords focused on trying to relax the rules on Pay to Stay and the length of fixed term tenancies, changing the


focus on new build for sale and giving more control to local councils over what gets built and where, as well as amending the enforced sale of council homes and how the proceeds are used. The new Act clearly encourages home ownership and many believe it favours those who can save (or borrow


from parents) enough for a deposit over those who rent. The worry is where does this leave council housing and what role will it play in balanced housing markets and mixed communities in the future?


HOUSING&MANAGEMENT MAINTENANCE May 2016


On the cover...


The May issue of Housing Management & Maintenance features ©Kingspan Insulation – Daniel Burton Photography


Amblecote Gardens, a new sheltered housing development in Salford provides a good example of how vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) can be used to maintain thermal performance and accessibility for vulnerable tenants. The City West Housing Trust complex includes 66 apartments.


For more information, go to page 48.


4 | HMM May 2016 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


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