Councils in England and Wales are drawing up plans for a national bank to pool billions of pounds of cash they hold on deposit and invest it in stalled infrastructure projects. The fund would pool up to £20 billion belonging to the 420 local authorities in England and Wales, and at its simplest level LAs
The Institute for Public Policy Research, which has been researching housing allocation for the Equalities Commission since last year, has concluded that Gordon Brown’s pledge to provide more social housing for local people is ‘flawed’ and could open up councils to legal challenge. Its unpublished interim report notes that there was no evidence that allocation
Homeless charity, Crisis, has been investigating the experience single rough sleepers face when seeking help from local councils. Most were discouraged from filing in formal applications to register as homeless, and many were deterred from even seeing a housing officer. A spokesperson from the charity said that there was widespread practice of councils using the
Nearly a third of councils in the east of England have reported an increase in homelessness in the past year. Councils in Norfolk, Bedfordshire and the London commuter belt were likely to see an increased number of homeless people and a rise in enquiries about joining housing lists due to increasing repossessions because of mortgage
A Kent couple who lost their jobs and could not afford to pay their mortgage have been found living in a garage. The couple had been renting the garage, which has no water or electricity, to store their possessions, but moved in when they became homeless and had ‘nowhere to go’. Swale borough council has
Young people housed by local authorities are entitled to ‘more than a roof over their headsâ, a ruling by the House of Lords established. The Law Lords judged that councils have a duty of care to assess the wider needs of 16- and 17-year-olds coming to them following family breakdown or because they are refugees.
Housing minister Margaret Beckett announced new support to help councils cut their planned rent increases. Guideline rent increases for 2009/10 were set out in September when inflation was at 6.2 per cent, however, Ms Beckett confirmed that this will be halved for local authority tenants to encourage councils to reduce the amount tenants would have
Forty flood-hit families a week have been returning to their homes following the floods in the summer of 2007. Figures from the councils involved in the floods said that of the 17,000 families who had to leave their homes 98 per cent are now back. However, 350 families are still in temporary accommodation and around
North London residents have reacted angrily over proposals to rent out council housing on the private market. Camden council, which has 17,000 people on the housing waiting list, says it wants to renovate up to 500 homes but locals warn that families could miss out on a flat if it is rented to people who
Meanwhile, the financial incentives given to councils to speed up housing planning applications to meet the 13-week target has had some ‘perverse’ consequences, a parliamentary committee has found. The MPs found that while the incentives have helped double the number of developments, they have had a number of unforeseen side effects such as a greater