Labour abandon social mobility in housing

The Housing Minister, John Healey, has admitted that Labour have abandoned their Housing Reform green paper, designed to increase social mobility.

When the paper was launched in May 2008, the Government said the measures would “provide housing services and options which help and encourage people towards greater economic independence and social mobility and to deliver greater fairness and make best use of our resources.”

But in an interview this week, John Healey, Labour’s fourth Housing Minister in two years, indicated he was not aware of the proposals before admitting that he was not working on the green paper.

Grant Shapps, the Shadow Housing Minister, stressed, “It no doubt suits the Government to drop a green paper about social mobility since it would only serve to embarrass them over their appalling record in housing which has led to a drastic decline in social mobility.”

And he added, “Progressive improvements in social mobility can be brought about if the Minister takes a look at our own Housing Green Paper and agrees to bring forward innovative ideas like our Right To Move policy, which would provide a real shot in the arm for housing mobility.”

Shapps highlights IVF postcode lottery

Grant Shapps has called on the Government to end the postcode lottery around the provision of IVF treatment.

A new report from the Conservatives reveals that more than eight out of ten Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are not offering the full three cycles of IVF treatment as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

And there are also widespread variations between regions:

• In the East Midlands, all PCTs will offer just one full cycle of treatment. In London, 39% offer one cycle per couple, 26% will provide two and a further 26% fund the full three cycles.
• One in every right PCTs fail to comply with NICE guidelines about the age of the female partner – meaning a woman could be too old for treatment in one area but too young in another.
• In the East Midlands, no PCT said they’d offer treatment to couples in which one partner already has a child – whereas 70% of North East PCTs would provide treatment.

Grant said that IVF “remains a postcode lottery” in this country – and stressed:

“This new research reveals that in 8 out of 10 areas couples will not receive the cycles of IVF recommended by Ministers. Budgets are tight and the NHS must set its priorities, but it is wrong to raise expectations in couples who are desperate to start a family only for them to find out later that they won’t get the real help they expected.”

Shapps demands help for homeowners as repossessions rise

Grant Shapps has warned that Gordon Brown’s schemes to help homeowners are not working after new figures showed a large rise in repossessions.

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that repossessions rose by 50% in the first quarter of this year.

Grant, the Shadow Housing Minister, warned that the recession is “taking its toll” and stressed that Labour’s “headline-grabbing schemes are failing hard-working families”:

"3,000 families have asked for help under the £235m Mortgage Rescue Scheme and yet just one has received assistance; while Ministers have finally launched their Homeowner Support Scheme - 4 months after announcing it - but just 50% of lenders are actually supporting it.”

Grant said, "It's time Gordon Brown concentrated on providing real support for those struggling as a result of his bust rather than trying to grab column inches."

Shapps warns Mortgage Rescue Scheme is "a sham"

New figures have revealed that while 3,000 families approached Local Authorities for help from the Government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme between January and March, only one family actually received assistance.

The scheme, announced in September, was meant to help 6,000 families over the next two years – but at the current rate just 8 families will benefit.

Meanwhile, since the scheme launched in January an estimated 15,000 families have had their homes repossessed.

Grant Shapps, the Shadow Housing Minister, said the “shocking” figures showed Labour’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme had been “a sham”:

“Gordon Brown has to realise that people will not be fooled by schemes that grab headlines and nothing else. He got us into this mess and he needs to help ordinary families through it.”

Shapps launches radical new housing policies

Grant Shapps has set out a series of radical new housing policies that will promote social opportunity and neighbourhood pride.

The measures, outlined in a major new policy paper, will provide England’s four million social tenants with genuine social mobility, and will restore pride to rundown housing estates by helping to encourage social responsibility.

The paper, entitled ‘Strong Foundations’, will also ensure that local homes are built for local people, with the community – not bureaucrats in Whitehall – having the final say on the homes they want.

The proposals include:

• Rewards for good behaviour - tenants with a record of five years’ good tenant behaviour will be offered a 10% equity share in their social rented property, giving them a direct financial stake in the state of their neighbourhood
• A ‘Right to Move’ - a comprehensive national mobility scheme that will allow good tenants to move to other social sector properties
• Supporting the low-cost housing sector – measures will include strengthening shared ownership schemes so that those on intermediate incomes can part-own their home
• Local Housing Trusts - villages and towns will be able to create entirely new community-led bodies with planning powers to develop local homes for local people, provided there is strong community backing
• Breaking the monopoly on empty government property - local people will have new powers to demand the selling of empty or under-used government property
• Stopping the Whitehall imposition of unwanted development - regional planning will be scrapped, enabling councils to revise their plans to protect Green Belt land and prevent the unwanted imposition of so-called eco-towns

Grant, the Shadow Housing Minister, said, “In the 1980s, the Conservative ‘Right to Buy’ gave the opportunity for millions of families to get onto the housing ladder and transformed housing estates by creating mixed communities. Thirty years on, we will build on this.”

And he stressed, “We need social housing that promotes opportunity and social mobility, rather than reinforcing welfare dependency. And we need a compassionate housing policy that recognises the need to house the vulnerable and tackle the soaring waiting lists under Labour.”

David Cameron added, “Houses are not really like every other investment. While houses may have a price, homes have a value. We need to kick our addiction to house price volatility and concentrate on making sure we build enough homes so that every community can meet its housing needs.”

Download 'Strong Foundations', our housing policy paper