High Rents In English Cities Forcing Young To Stay In Small Towns

One of the defining patterns of English life in which young people move from small towns with limited prospects to bigger cities to seek their fortune is in dramatic decline. More young people are getting stuck where they grew up or went to university because they cannot afford rents in places where they can earn more money, according to the Resolution Foundation. It found the number of people aged 25 to 34 starting a new job and moving home in the last year had fallen 40% over the last two decades. Whereas previous generations were able to move to big cities to develop their careers, the current millennial generation is enduring a slump in mobility caused by rising rents, which can wipe out the financial gains of a move. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/06/high-rents-in-english-cities-forcing-young-to-stay-in-small-towns

Housing Benefit: Young People – Parliamentary Written Answer

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether savings to the public purse over the current Parliament, which his Department estimated will accrue from changes in housing benefit for people under 21 years of age includes the costs of evictions and temporary accommodation potentially resulting from those changes; and whether he has made an assessment of the effect of those changes on young peoples' labour mobility.

Caroline Nokes: It is important to make clear that the changes referred to will only affect claimants on Universal Credit Full service – they will not affect those on Housing Benefit. Since the policy was initially announced, we have worked in collaboration with key housing stakeholders such as Crisis and Shelter to make sure the policy includes the right exemptions to protect the most vulnerable people; we are therefore confident about the robustness of the policy.

Disabled People in Britain Face a Hidden Housing Crisis

Disabled people are experiencing a hidden housing crisis, says a new report suggesting that many are having to wash in their kitchens and sleep in their living rooms because their homes are ill-designed for their needs. The charity Leonard Cheshire Disability claims that as many as five million people now need a disabled-friendly home, a number set to rise as the population ages. A survey for the charity's Home Truths campaign finds that almost three-quarters of people with mobility problems do not have an accessible door into their building. More than half say their buildings do not have doors and hallways wide enough for a wheelchair. Download the report from the Leonard Cheshire Disability website.

Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy: Interim Evaluation Report

As the post immediately below states, the DWP has issued an interim report presents early findings from the evaluation of the Bedroom Tax or as the Coalition call it the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS). The objectives of this project are to evaluate:

·        the preparation and implementation of the policy changes by local  authorities and social landlords

·        the extent of increased mobility within the social housing sector  leading to more effective use of the housing stock

·        the extent to which more people are in work, working increased hours  or earning increased incomes as a result of the RSRS

         the effects of the RSRS, and responses to it, of:

·        claimants

·        landlords

·        local authorities

·        voluntary and statutory organisations and advice services

·        funders lending to social landlords

Download the report from the DWP website.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty on (a) the total housing benefit bill, (b) overcrowding, (c) homelessness and (d) housing mobility.  

Esther McVey: The information is as follows:

 (a) The housing benefit bill was expected to rise above £25 billion in 2014-15 (£15 billion for the social rented sector alone) prior to the introduction of the removal of the spare room subsidy.

The Department estimated the policy would achieve savings of £490 million in 2013-14, £525 million in 2014-15 and £560 million in 2015-16.

(b) to (d) The policy to remove the spare room subsidy introduces not only parity of treatment between the private and social rented sectors, but encourages more effective use of social housing stock. It has reduced the number of households who under-occupy their properties, which has freed up larger homes for those currently on the social housing waiting list who are living in overcrowded conditions. It also encourages social providers to take account of local needs and demographic trends when allocating properties and developing their building programmes. Levels of homelessness acceptances in England have reduced 7% in the last quarter compared to the same period in the previous year. This is 65% lower than the peak in 2003. The effects of the policy are being monitored and evaluated over a two-year period from April 2013. Initial findings will be published before recess and the final report in late 2015.

Social Housing – Parliamentary Oral Answer

Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD): What assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of homelessness of the proposed changes to rules on the changes in the treatment of tenancies in under-occupied social housing.
Grant Shapps: The security and rights of existing social tenants, including those who are under-occupying, will be protected in the reform of social housing. I have announced a £13 million scheme to help local authorities to offer tenants greater flexibility in their choices.
Mr Leech: Does he accept that the allocations policies of some local authorities result in larger, hard-to-let properties being under-occupied through no fault of the new tenants? Given the one reasonable offer rule, surely some existing tenants will no longer be able to afford to stay in their property, and some potential tenants will not be able to afford to take the one reasonable offer.
Grant Shapps: My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that there are problems with the allocation policy at the moment. One thing that we plan to do through the Localism Bill is to provide much greater flexibility to allocations. For example, if somebody is seeking to move home within the sector, they should not have to join the back of the regular queue. In addition, by the end of this year we will have set up a mobility scheme, which will cover 90% of homes in this country.

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the promotion of social mobility through reducing levels of under-occupation of social housing.
Andrew Stunell: In January the Minister for Housing and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) announced a £13 million programme to help under-occupying social tenants who wish to move. While no tenant will be forced to move, many tenants welcome the offer of support to find a home that better suits their needs. Helping under-occupiers to move will often free up a larger home for other tenants, including those who have been overcrowded. Our radical reforms to tenure, mobility and the rules on allocating social housing, together with the introduction of a national home-swap scheme, will provide local authorities with tools to address under-occupation and to help support greater mobility among social tenants.

Social Housing – Parliamentary Oral Answer

Jonathan Lord (Woking) (Con): What steps is the Minister for Housing and Local Government taking to address under-occupation of social housing to promote social mobility?
Grant Shapps: In January, I announced a £13 million programme to address under-occupation by offering support to tenants who wish to move. Our radical social housing reforms will also involve introducing for the first time a national home swap programme. There is an extraordinary 430,000 people living in homes with two or more spare bedrooms, while nearly a quarter of a million people are living in overcrowded circumstances. None of this makes sense, and we have just announced a scheme whereby people are helped to move where they want to. There is no question of anyone being required to move, but assistance with utility bills and bank accounts being moved, for example, turns out to be one of the most useful things available, particularly for elderly people who are interested in moving home.

Cameron Announces Plan to End Lifetime Council Tenancies

An end to lifetime council tenancies was signalled today by David Cameron as he warned the coming public spending cuts will not be restored when the economy recovers. Cameron said he wanted to see fixed terms for all new council and housing association tenancies lasting as little as five years to help increase social mobility. The prime minister admitted that "not everyone will support this and there will be quite a big argument". Speaking in Birmingham, he said: "There is a question mark about whether, in future, we should be asking when you are given a council home, is it for a fixed period? Because maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won't need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector."
A consultation paper, due to be published as early as tomorrow (5 August), will say the new short-term tenure would be for local councils to implement, but would involve regular reviews of tenancies to see if the council tenant still needed such a large property or had sufficient income to shift to the private sector. The communities department estimates that it costs each taxpayer £35 a week to keep people in affordable homes, and it is argued the tenancy for life is an inefficient use of scarce resources. Under the government's proposals council tenants could be forced to downsize. A total of 234,000 households in the social tenant sector are overcrowded while 456,000 are under-occupied, meaning people have more than one extra spare room, according to official figures. Read the full story on the Guardian website by clicking on the logo below.

Shapps Reveals Details of National Home Swap Scheme for Social Housing Tenants

The Government has given more details of plans to reform social housing. A national scheme is being introduced to connect tenants in different areas who are keen to swap properties for employment or personal reasons. Housing minister Grant Shapps said the initiative would help resolve the "contradiction" where a quarter of a million families lived in overcrowded accommodation, while more than 400,000 homes were larger than the occupants needed.
A number of councils already run successful exchange systems, but under the new proposals all eight million council and housing association tenants across England will be able to put their names forward for the National Home Swap Scheme. Shadow housing minister John Healey said: "I fear these measures could be taken as a green light by some to pressure people out of their homes - not least as the announcement follows David Cameron letting the cat out of the bag on the Tories' secret agenda to remove security of tenure." Read more on the CLG website by clicking on the logo below.

Report of the Mobility Taskforce

The Mobility Taskforce came together in autumn 2009 at the request of Grant Shapps to develop proposals to increase mobility for social tenants. Recommendations focus on creating opportunities for people to move by making the best use of existing homes. They are about improving existing tenants' chances of moving through mutual exchanges (or swaps) and transfers. The report has now been published by the NHF and a copy can be downloaded from its website by clicking on the logo below.

Lack of Mobility Costs £542m a Year

Social tenants’ inability to move home is costing the UK’s economy at least £542 million each year, according to a report from a think tank. Counting the Costs, a report commissioned by Circle Anglia, estimates that 495,000 of the 3.9 million social households in the UK want to move home, but are unable to do so for a number of reasons, including a fall in the number of available lettings and a rise in the number of families on waiting lists for social housing. Over the past 13 years, there has been a 66 per cent decline in the availability of new lettings to existing tenants, while one in 12 households in England are now on waiting lists. The report breaks down the £542 million annual cost into £305 million lost as a result of tenants not being able to care for their relatives, an additional £81 million cost to the NHS caused by unsuitable housing, £48 million on welfare payments and lost tax revenues from tenants wanting to take up employment but unable to do so, £32 million on educational under-attainment and £58 million to the criminal justice system. Download a copy of the report from the Circle Anglia website.

Right to Buy Tenants Trapped on Estates

Helping tenants to buy their own homes has trapped them in neighbourhoods from which they are unable to escape, research into the effects of the right to buy policy has revealed. A paper by an academic at the University of St Andrews has suggested that the flagship homeownership policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in the eighties has failed in its ambition to help social tenants become more mobile. The researchers found no difference in the moving habits of right-to-buyers and traditional owners. ‘Once social renters become RTB owners they behave more like owners.’Right to buyers were, however, much more likely to want to move than homeowners who bought on the private market. ‘Problems in the neighbourhood are both an important reason to move and a reason to have a desire to move for RTB-owners,’ the report states. Read more on Inside Housing.

Social Rented Housing: Increasing Mobility - Call for Evidence

Representatives from tenants’ groups and social housing experts have been asked by Grant Shapps, Housing Minister, to propose ways of allowing social tenants to move home more easily. The Taskforce has produced an interim report summarising their finding from the first stage of consultation, and outlining the areas they want to investigate further. Find a copy of the report on the National Housing Federation website below.

Move Scheme Put On Hold

Plans to pilot a national mobility scheme to help tenants move around England have been shelved because of a lack of interest from housing associations. A report launched by the HCA and a group of eight housing associations makes a number of suggestions about how such a scheme might work. Find the full story on the Inside Housing website

Social Housing Residents 'Would Benefit From National Mobility Scheme'

Social housing residents would benefit from the opportunity to move home through a national mobility scheme, according to a new report published by the HCA and eight leading housing associations. Research to inform Mobility Matters: Exploring Mobility Aspirations and Options for Social Housing Residents has found that out of four million social housing households nationwide, nearly 680,000 expressed a strong desire to move to a different home. Find more details on the 24dash website

Tories Unveil Social Housing Swap Plan

The Conservative Party has unveiled details of a scheme that would allow social tenants to move around the country. Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps used a speech at the NHF to give details of the house swap scheme, which was first mentioned in the party’s housing green paper earlier in the year. Find more details on Inside Housing