Fundamental reforms in social housing are needed to tackle concentrated areas of deprivation, a report from Localis has said. The report said that councils and registered social landlords need to fix broken neighbourhoods and should be given the ‘right to manage’ their housing stock. It also wants the role of social housing to be better
Planning applications to local councils have dropped by an average of almost 19 per cent, causing a drop in income averaging 16.3 per cent across England. The amounts ranged from a 50 per cent fall in income in Cambridge to a 27 per cent increase in Kerrier. Councils believe the overall fall is the result
The Liberal Democrats launched plans today to increase the supply of social housing, stem the number of repossessions, and rescue the construction industry. They want to introduce a ‘repair and renewal’ loan scheme for owners of empty properties if they agree to lease them for at least five years to a housing association, and would
However, Westminster CC has revealed plans to embark on the biggest council house building programme for a generation in May. During the next four years the council will build almost 500 homes on brownfield and under-used sites on existing estates to help ease overcrowding and homelessness. The scheme will include 104 shared ownership homes and
A scheme in Edinburgh which places the homeless in private flats and houses is to be expanded as the city struggles to meet demand for affordable housing. During the past three years around 1,500 homeless people have been housed in private accommodation with rents subsidised by the council’s private sector leasing (PSL) scheme. Statistics show
The Homes and Communities Agency says it is ready to begin delivering the significantly enlarged programme of public house building when it takes responsibility of the additional £1.5 billion promised on Monday by Gordon Brown. The HCA will allocate the funds through its National Affordable Housing Programme, and via the existing bidding process which it
Planning regulations designed to cut red tape and save money on planning application fees are having the opposite effect, according to research by a national loft builder, Econoloft. It argues that the easing in planning restrictions on some extensions has not clarified the rules, as every council is interpreting the guidance in a different way,
The government is to unveil a new report aimed at keeping down council tax rises today, and it is expected to advocate the creation of a new website giving the best deals and prices on billions of pounds worth of goods and services purchased by councils each year. Local government minister John Healey said the
The Local Government Association (LGA) has compiled a list of 200 words and phrases it has banned so that staff can ‘communicate effectively’. The list includes ‘predictors of beaconicity’, ‘re-baselining’ and ‘benchmarking’. LGA chairperson Margaret Eaton said the public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon.
The New Local Government Network (NLGN) has released a report arguing that a dramatic cut in public services could be avoided if local authorities were given new investment powers. The NLGN says this would allow them to retain staff, facilities and programmes; and even offer targeted cuts in council tax.