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.”

Healey kickstarts work on 22,400 homes

Housing Minister John Healey today announced that 270 stalled development projects across the country have been shortlisted for a share of £925m which could help get building work on 22,400 homes back on track and create 20,000 jobs.

Every region has shortlisted projects and will benefit from this major cash injection, part of the Prime Minister’s Housing Pledge announced last month, that will help build the homes the country needs, help the country through the recession and help people into jobs. The projects have been identified by the Homes and Communities Agency through the Kickstart programme.

Mr Healey made clear that this support comes on tough terms. The Government expects almost half the money to be repaid within five years, over one third will go to housing associations and others to help them manage the affordable housing and less than one fifth (18%) consists of direct grant to support developers. Only developers who have accepted a realistic current market price for their land are eligible for Government investment.

All the projects will now go through a rigorous final assessment to determine which get the green light. Key to this will be their ability to start construction this year. But Mr Healey said he wanted to see the first builders back on site in a matter of weeks and will call on successful developers to pull out all the stops so construction can restart as quickly as possible.

Over 8,600 of these homes would be for affordable rent or sale, with two thirds built to a standard well above that required by building regulations helping to cut CO2 emissions and reduce energy bills for the families that live in them.

The Kickstart programme is a key part of the Government’s investment to help combat the recession. It is designed to unlock housebuilding sites currently unable to proceed and support construction of high quality mixed tenure housing developments. Kickstart was announced in this year’s Budget and then expanded last month as part of the Prime Minister’s Housing Pledge as a centrepiece of Building Britain’s Future.

This funding will be used to make projects that have been mothballed in the current economic climate viable and is only being provided where developers cannot get support from other sources. It will boost development funding available, reduce levels of risk associated with projects and help support demand from homebuyers through measures such as Homebuy Direct.

John Healey said:

"We’ve pledged to use the power of Government investment to help Britain through the recession. This billion pound Kickstart programme will get stalled building work back on track, create jobs and help build the quality homes we need.

"Today I’m announcing that 270 housing projects across the country are shortlisted line for a share of £925m. This could kickstart work on up to 22,400 homes and create 20,000 jobs on housebuilding sites that have been mothballed in the recession. Around 8,600 of these homes would be for low cost rent or low cost ownership and two thirds will be built to some of the toughest ever standards helping to reduce CO2 emissions.

"This is not a handout to developers. There are tough terms to this deal including repayment of loans within five years. And only builders who accept a realistic current market price for their land are eligible.

"I want to see builders back on these sites within weeks. So I will be calling on successful developers to pull out all the stops so construction can restart as quickly as possible."

Sir Bob Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, said:

"The response to our bidding process shows the level of appetite and capacity for development which is out there in the house building sector. Despite the economic downturn, demand for new homes remains and with some help, quality schemes can be unlocked, adding to new supply very quickly."

Shortlisted projects include:

• Stanion, an urban extension to Corby, which in the long term is planned to deliver 1,200 homes. Infrastructure is in place but housing development has stalled. There are three shortlisted bids from developers seeking to start development in this area – two of which are at Code Level 3 and two Building for Life Silver.
• An 82-home scheme in the Growth Point in Macclesfield, a high priority under the regional spatial strategy, has bid for funding to deliver a mixture of sale and low cost home ownership homes. The scheme is seeking to achieve Code for Sustainable homes Level 6.
• Crayford Town Hall in Bexley, a site which is no longer required by the local authority and is suitable for housing development. This could deliver up to 145 homes, in a mixture of sale, affordable rent and low cost home ownership. This is expected to achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and Building for Life Silver.
• Alnwick in Northumberland, where the town centre scheme could bring forward up to 93 homes, a mixture of sale, social and intermediate rent – at Code Level 3 – that will also help to deliver town centre regeneration.
• A scheme in north Bristol (in the Growth Point) which could deliver up to 149 homes (a mixture of sale, social rent and low cost home ownership). It will provide considerable benefits to neighbouring communities in Patchway through investment in local community facilities, which includes a new district centre and primary school. The scheme is expected to be Building for Life Silver and Ecohomes Very Good.

All of these will be subject to due diligence to further test their deliverability, risk and financial position.

Region	Number of Projects	Amount of Investment (£’000s)	Number of homes (gross)
East of England	21	£55,171	Up to 1,675
East Midlands	32	£113,757	Up to 2,880
London	25	£171,221	Up to 2,981
North East	26	£82,006	Up to 1,721
North West	54	£134,877	Up to 3,764
South East	26	£109,892	Up to 2,326
South West	25	£65,792	Up to 2,121
West Midlands	35	£109,231	Up to 2,842
Yorkshire / Humber	26	£83,351	Up to 2,088
Total	270	£925,299	Up to 22,398

Mr Healey today also signalled a second wave of Kickstart funding, with a bidding round to start in September, and said that he is ready to back other projects to build thousands of further homes that otherwise would not be completed. Successful second wave projects will be announced later this year.

Building Britain's future: Healey unveils further boost for housing

Housing Minister John Healey today announced the release of funding to build 11,200 new homes, regenerate ten of the most deprived areas of the country and create 20,000 jobs in the building industry.

This boost follows hard on the heels of the Prime Minister’s commitment – set out in Building Britain’s Future - to invest an extra £1.5 billion towards building a total of 110,000 new affordable homes over the next two years.

Mr Healey announced a major £1.7 billion cash boost for ten local authorities in six regions under the housing private finance initiative (PFI) that will allow them to deliver 4,500 new or improved council homes as well as 1,600 new affordable rented homes.

The Minister also announced that in the last month through the Homes and Communities Agency he has released over £300 million to 50 Housing Associations across 119 local authority areas, to build a further 5,100 affordable homes. He also announced the allocation of £35 million to help regenerate almost 700 homes across 11 urban areas through the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders programme.

Taken together the funding PFI and affordable housing funding will help to create around 20,000 building jobs.

Mr Healey also revealed that in the first quarter of this financial year alone, and despite the economic downturn, the Government is supporting the construction of 14,000 new affordable homes with over £430 million invested in those three months alone – double the investment of a year ago.

Housing Minister John Healey said:

“Building homes, creating jobs and lifting communities out of deprivation is a top priority for us in Government. I’m determined to pull out all the stops to see new homes built to meet our need for more housing in Britain.

“At a time when private house building has declined dramatically during the recession, government investment and action means more affordable homes are now being built more quickly and we are helping to keep the construction industry going. In fact we’ve doubled the investment in the homes we’re building through our affordable housing programme compared to this time last year.

“We have had to make some tough decisions across government about where we spend our money but we need to build more homes in Britain, and especially more homes available at rents people can afford. This is my top priority for this year and the next.

“The steps I’m announcing today put real momentum behind the Prime Minister’s Housing Pledge and I want to see work start on sites across the country within months.”

In a further boost to housing, Mr Healey confirmed today that there have been more than 300 bids from developers for the Government’s new Kickstart fund – first announced in the Budget and now topped up to £1 billion – to unlock stalled private sector developments. The Homes and Communities Agency is currently assessing bids and the successful projects will be announced later this month.

He also confirmed the Government has so far received expressions of interest from more than 70 local authorities across the country for the new council house building fund – first announced at the budget and now topped up to more than £350 million. The first successful bids for this will be announced in September.

As well as more high quality affordable homes, the Government wants to ensure a high quality service for the tenants who live in them. For this reason, Mr Healey today set out Government directions that will support the new social housing regulator, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) to set high standards.

Mr Healey has today published for consultation a series of draft directions to the TSA covering rents, tenant empowerment and decent homes. The draft directions also respond to the possibility of negative RPI inflation later this year by providing a ‘floor’ of –2 per cent under rent increases in 2010/11, ensuring that Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) will not be obliged to reduce their rents by any more than two per cent next year. This strikes a balance between the interests of tenants, and the need to support investment in new affordable housing as well as improving existing homes and services.

The Housing Minister also confirmed today the Government’s decisions on priorities and efficiency savings to fund the Prime Minister’s commitment to housing as part of Building Britain’s Future. The Pledge commits an extra £1.5 billion to build 20,000 new affordable homes.

Up to £930 million towards the cost of the Pledge is contributed from other Departments, including Business, Innovation and Skills, Transport, Children, Schools and Families, Home Office and Health.

From CLG and the HCA funding will be switched from a number of capital spending programmes including the Growth Fund, the Decent Homes Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) Programme, and the Private Sector Renewal programme. However, in each of the areas affected the extra funding from the Housing Pledge gives the opportunity to bid for more money to build new homes. The remainder of the department’s contribution to the Housing Pledge will come from a tougher efficiency target for the HCA of 3% in operational efficiency savings this year plus the requirement to find £183 million through efficient and flexible management of its housing and regeneration programmes.

John Healey said that while this had involved some tough decisions, the direct impact on people and communities would be kept to a minimum. Savings on Growth Funds recognise that growth across the economy is slower than planned. Whilst the Government remains firmly committed to improving housing conditions for those in greatest need, completing the Decent Homes programme and continuing to invest £1bn in Private Sector Renewal.

Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, said:

“The funding for additional homes announced by Government this month will add substantially to our funding available for new affordable homes, helping local authorities to meet housing need in their areas and simultaneously helping house builders and RSLs to maintain new build activity. Government has had to make some difficult decisions as to where that funding should come from, based in part on the HCA’s existing wider programme, but there is a premium on new build activity and I am pleased that the sector has seen the benefit in putting an additional £1.5bn into housing delivery.”

(CLG) Healey confirms action to protect council taxpayers

Local Government Minister John Healey has today confirmed that the Government will take action to tackle excessive council tax increases set this year by two police authorities.

Subject to approval of an order laid before the House of Commons, Surrey Police Authority will be capped this year. It will be required to set a lower council tax in 2009-10 and arrange for residents to be re-billed. This is the first time under current legislation that the Government has had to take action twice against the same authority.

Action is also being taken against Derbyshire Police Authority to restrict its scope for council tax increases in future years.

John Healey said:

"In this tough economic climate council taxpayers are rightly looking to their local authorities to provide good value for money and keep council tax bills down.

"Thanks to a £2.9 billion funding increase this year and greater financial flexibility and predictability the overwhelming majority of authorities have done just that. The average household council tax bill will rise by 2.6 per cent this year - the lowest increase since council tax was introduced in 1993. There is simply no excuse for excessive council tax increases.

"The action we are taking today should send a message loud and clear to all authorities - that the Government will take tough action to protect council taxpayers, including requiring authorities to rebill where necessary."

Local authorities have been helped to deliver the lowest-ever increase in household council tax bills by the stability that the first-ever three-year finance settlement provides - including a 4.2 per cent increase in funding this year alone.

Local authorities have already made £1.6billion efficiency savings since 2008 and the extra £600million savings expected in 2010-11 will be recycled back into their own frontline services, or used to keep council tax down.

While council tax levels for 2009-10 will remain unchanged in Derbyshire, a notional budget requirement has been proposed against which the police authority's budget and council tax levels will be measured for future comparisons. They now have 21 days in which to exercise their right to challenge their proposed notional amounts before a final decision is taken.

(CLG) Full disclosure proposed for Council top earners

New proposals for the full disclosure of senior staff pay and perks at local councils were announced by Local Government Minister John Healey today.

The consultation proposes changes to the Accounts and Audit Regulations (2003) creating a new legal requirement and could require up to 475 local authority bodies to include detailed senior pay information in 2009/10 annual statement of accounts.

The new remuneration disclosure rules would require councils to set out full details for around 2500 specifically identified senior posts including temporary senior appointments covering salary, bonuses, pensions, perks and compensation pay offs.

These new disclosure standards would bring councils up to the same high standards that are already required of civil servants and Government Ministers.

Additionally, the proposals build on the standards set in central government by also requiring councils to publish a head count, in narrower £5,000 band increments, of all staff taking home more than £50,000 a year.

John Healey said:

"It is right that council decide the wages for their staff, but the public pays and they have the right to see the full picture of top pay and perks.

"Councils are big organisations with a tough job - they need the best people in charge. But we've recently seen top salaries rising far faster than the rest of local government. This salary spiral has to stop.

"The level of public disclosure for councils is much lower than we now rightly require from the civil service and ministers. I want it brought up to a better standard.

"That is why I am proposing full disclosure in new regulations that will mean authorities must publish in their annual reports what their top earners get in pay, pensions, redundancy payoffs, bonuses and other special allowances.

"In today's tough economic climate councils must think harder about senior salaries and this will put a brake on spiralling pay packets."

Central government's role is to set the right framework in which councils can decide their own pay and appropriate reward packages for good performance.

Mr Healey wants councils to ensure that pay and reward decisions are also made more fair and transparent. Councils are already beginning to discuss and share best practice around setting pay standards, especially at senior levels.

The Government recognises that pay is part of a wider workforce picture and is working with local government and partners to identify ways to widen the talent pool of potential recruits available to middle and senior management vacancies in local government.

(CLG) Average household council tax rise the lowest ever

The average rise in council tax per household next year will be the lowest ever, Local Government Minister John Healey announced today.

Figures published today show that the average Band D council tax increase will be three per cent. The average household council tax bill is almost £240 lower than the average Band D amount, and will increase by 2.6 per cent - the lowest such increase since council tax was introduced in 1993.

The first ever three year local government funding settlement giving councils an extra £8.9 billion, including 4.2 per cent more next year, is helping authorities to plan ahead and better manage the pressures their communities face. Planned efficiency savings over the settlement period are expected to reach £4.9billion.

The Government has been clear it expected an average council tax increase substantially below five per cent next year. The vast majority of local authorities have complied, with 23 councils, excluding their parish precepts, actually freezing or reducing council tax.

However, Mr Healey is also announcing today that Surrey and Derbyshire Police Authorities have set excessive increases that have been "designated" for capping action. They now have 21 days to make their case to government.

Derbyshire Police Authority has set its budget increase to 4.99% and its council tax to 8.68%. Last year Surrey Police Authority was capped and was set a notional budget for 2008/09, providing the basis for judging future increases. Based on those notional amounts, Surrey has set its budget increase to 4.82% and its council tax to 7.07%. This is the first time that the Government has had to take action twice against the same authority.

John Healey said:

"Most councils across the country are tightening their belts, which is exactly what the public wants to see. Today's figures show that the vast majority of local authorities have kept increases to a minimum.

"The average household council tax bill will rise by 2.6 per cent - the lowest increase since council tax was introduced in 1993.

"An extra £8.9 billion from the Government's three year funding settlement and £4.9 billion of planned efficiency savings are helping councils maintain both high quality public services and low council tax, and for the first time ever the public now see on their bill how efficient their council is.

"With a tough economic year ahead councils will need to do even more to control costs and I remain ready to be tough with capping powers to protect council taxpayers from excessive increases."