industry news
CIH wants more new housing of all tenures built
Housing’s professional body has welcomed the Government's package of investment to build new houses, but stressed that making sure homes of all types are built will be crucial to meet demand. Following the announcement of a new £3bn fund, Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), said: “We need more homes for rent and sale that people of all incomes can afford and it is crucial the Government ensures that this extra investment, and the new momentum created by it, achieves this.” The CIH wants to see the new money
invested in building new homes for all tenures – for renting, for shared ownership and for outright sale. This is similar to the message from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, who highlighted the need for 1.8 million new homes for rent in their response to the Government’s funding announcement.
Encouraging
Mr Smart added: “It is encouraging to see both the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government recognise that we need to build far more homes to meet housing need. “The key now will be in the detail and the biggest challenge will be making sure that the investment supports new, affordable homes of all types. “Though boosting home ownership is something we support, many people are unable to get onto the property market and are left with no option but to rent in the private sector.”
Upward trend in homelessness “deeply worrying,” Alafat says
The latest figures on homelessness highlight a worrying upward trend, CIH chief executive Terrie Alafat has commented. Alafat said: “The Government's latest homelessness figures highlight the continuation of a deeply worrying trend.” She was responding to figures that showed:
• Local authorities accepted 15,170 households as being statutorily homeless between 1 April and 30 June 2016, up 3 per cent on the previous quarter and 10 per cent on the same quarter of last year.
• The total number of households in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2016 was 73,120, up 9 per cent on a year earlier, and up 52 per cent on the low of 48,010 on 31 December 2010.
Ms Alafat added: “It is particularly concerning that those living in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the legal limit of six weeks went up 18 per cent in the last quarter alone. These are trends we cannot ignore.” In praising local authorities for their work on support and prevention, Ms Alafat said the increased numbers of people presenting as homeless showed that more resources were needed, in particular for new affordable housing. “While the Homelessness Reduction Bill
could be a crucial piece of legislation in our efforts to tackle homelessness, what these figures clearly demonstrate is that imposing a
“Over 8,000 people were seen sleeping rough in London in 2015/16”
duty will only get us so far,” said Ms Alafat. “What we desperately need is a long-term
strategy which includes a commitment to give local authorities the support they need and recognises building more homes people can afford will be absolutely central to making sure homeless people get the help they need.”
Temporary accommodation
Meanwhile research by trade magazine Inside Housing has found a Government fund targeted at tackling the number of families in temporary accommodation has failed to halt the rise. Some 25 councils were given access to a £5m fund late last year, but 19 of them reported a jump in the number of households placed in temporary housing between June 2015 and June 2016. In Birmingham, the number of households living in temporary accommodation at the end of June had shot up by more than 50 per cent to 1,330. Analysis of homelessness statistics published by the Department for Communities and Local Government revealed the total number of households living in temporary accommodation across the 25 local authorities rose by 6 per cent to 51,552 between June 2015 and June 2016.
Capital response
London mayor Sadiq Khan has responded by establishing a new taskforce aimed at tackling the rise in rough sleeping on the streets of the capital. Mr Khan has announced the new ‘No Nights Sleeping Rough’ taskforce, which will be headed up by deputy mayor for housing James Murray. The taskforce brings together officials from central and local government, as well as homelessness charities. Its main focus will be on prevention. The new group will work with the
Metropolitan Police, NHS bodies and Transport for London to identify new interventions, as well as lobbying the Government for support. It replaces previous mayor Boris Johnson’s Rough Sleeping Group. A City Hall source said the new taskforce, which will hold its first meeting. A total of 8,096 people were seen sleeping
rough in London in 2015/16, according to research commissioned by the Greater London Authority – a 7 per cent increase on the 6,508 reported in 2014/15 and a 20 per cent increase on the 6,437 rough sleepers in 2012/13. Mr Khan said: “The number of people
sleeping rough is clearly unacceptable. I won’t allow this problem to be ignored. I want my new taskforce to make a real impact by ensuring government, the voluntary sector, boroughs, and others are working together effectively to help people off the streets.”
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM November 2016 | 11
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