Inadequate UK Housing Blamed For Spread Of Covid

Lord Kerslake calls for housebuilding package to address overcrowding and ’reunite housing and health policy’.  The former head of the UK civil service has blamed inadequate UK housing provision for the high prevalenece of covid-19 spread in the UK. Lord Kerslake, now chair of housing association Peabody and local housing company Be First, called on the government to bring forward a housebuilding stimulus package in order to address the health inequalities which have seen those in overcrowded housing suffer more deaths from coronavirus. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/inadequate-uk-housing-blamed-for-spread-of-covid/5106369.article

Kerslake Calls On Government To Consider Help To Buy Extension

The former head of the civil service has said the government needs to consider extending the Help to Buy scheme in order to help the industry recover in the wake of the covid-19 crisis. Lord Kerslake said the government would also need to look at raising grant rates for social housing. Kerslake said: “I think the challenge is going to be to restore confidence after what has been a big health and economic shock. The sort of things you’ll be looking for is where the government can give confidence to the market, particularly on build for sale, with things like Help to Buy.” Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/kerslake-calls-on-government-to-consider-help-to-buy-extension/5105498.article

Kerslake Urges Ministers To Revise View Of Social Housing

The former head of the civil service has called on ministers to change their view of social housing. Lord Kerslake has issued a stinging criticism of the government’s housing policy. The peer said his advice to ministers was that they should hold back on implementing the housing and planning act in full, given the current national situation.“If they’re rational, the government will put some housing bill policies on the backburner.” He added: “Estate renewal has great potential but we can’t just bulldoze in there and think residents will be happy.” The peer defended communities secretary Greg Clark, saying he had been “lumbered with ridiculous policies”. Read more on 24dash.

Lords Starter Homes Amendments Give Government Headache

The report stage in the House of Lords saw peers strike several blows to government policy on Starter Homes. Two amendments, one and eight, were passed by the Lords as they looked to safeguard affordable housing against starter homes. Amendment one, passed with a 275-181 vote, was regarding the starter homes discount taper being 20 years instead of the government proposed eight. The second, amendment eight led by Lord Kerslake, seeks to allow local authorities to have discretion on starter homes numbers. Read more on 24dash.

End Of Long-Term Tenancies Will ‘Damage Family Life’

Ministers face intense pressure to drop plans to end long-term, secure tenancies for families in social housing, amid rising concern that it would harm the education of children and damage family life. The former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake, now a crossbench peer, said that the proposals, which were quietly inserted by the government into the housing and planning bill at the end of last year, were unacceptable.  Kerslake, who is backed by Labour and Liberal Democrat peers as well as other crossbenchers and bishops, said that families would lack any sense of security about where their long-term home was, and that children would have to move schools several times during their years in education. Read more on the Observer website.

Kerslake To Table Right To Buy Loans Amendment

The government will be pressed to offer loans for the extended Right to Buy instead of discounts, in a proposed change to legislation. Lord Bob Kerslake said he would table an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill so that association tenants are offered equity loans, as opposed to discounts.  A report published by the Communities and Local Government committee earlier this month said the discounts should not be paid through local authority property sales, calling the funding model “extremely questionable”. Read more on Inside Housing.

You Can't Trust The Tories When It Comes To Affordable Housing

Britain's cost of housing crisis means that for too many families and young people on ordinary incomes, a decent and stable home is simply beyond their means. This isn't a natural disaster. Housing is, as the ex head of the civil service Lord Bob Kerslake has said, "the biggest public policy failure of the past 50 years".  Even under Margaret Thatcher, significant public funding was available for building affordable homes, and she re-affirmed the long-standing duty on private developers to do their bit to build low cost homes too. But this Conservative government has torn up the idea that we should build houses to cater for all needs, and with it any hope of solving the cost of housing crisis. Read more of this piece by John Healey on the Huffington Post website.

Right-To-Buy Battle Looms in Lords

The Tories’ plan to extend the right to buy to housing association tenants will face stiff opposition in the House of Lords, amid growing concern that it will compromise the independence of charities and add hugely to government debt. In a move that has support from a cross-party group of peers – as well as the former head of the civil service, Lord Kerslake, who is a crossbencher – Labour has tabled an amendment to the charities bill that would pave the way for a prolonged parliamentary battle over one of the most controversial policies outlined in the Tory manifesto. Senior figures in Whitehall have told the Observer that the Treasury is increasingly concerned about forcing housing associations to sell their properties, fearing it could add up to £60bn to government debt and mean the Treasury has to step in to fund subsidies to buyers. Read more on the Observer website.

Lord Kerslake 'Has A Duty' To Speak Out Against Government RTB Plans

Lord Kerslake has renewed his attack on the government's plans to extend the right to buy and said he "has a duty" to speak out about something so "fundamentally wrong". Fresh from his maiden speech in the House of Lords, the former head of the civil service repeated his claim that the proposal to extend RTB to housing associations is "wrong in principle and wrong in practice". Lord Kerslake acknowledged that he had gone against the parliamentary tradition of not making a controversial maiden speech but felt compelled to speak out on the issue. He said feedback from fellow peers had been positive. Read more on 24dash.