Former Housing Minister Finds Current Planning System Not Fit For Purpose

Existing planning rules in England should be scrapped as it is no longer able to produce the kind of homes that people need in terms of affordability, health and well-being, according to a new hard hitting report. Former housing minister Nick Raynsford, who chaired the review into planning by the Town and Country Planning Association, says that decades of tinkering to try to make the system more viable and effective have not worked. Launching the report in London, Raynsford described the current system as being ‘built on the back of assertion rather than evidence’ and the result is poor outcomes. He called for a radical, root and branch reform of planning at a national level. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/former-housing-minister-finds-current-planning-system-not-fit-purpose/

Miliband's Plan for Mansion Tax Draws Fire from Top Labour MPs

Ed Miliband is facing resistance from senior Labour MPs in London.  Former Labour local government minister, Nick Raynsford described the plan as "good politics but bad policy". He said what was urgently needed was a revaluation of council tax for the first time since 1991, to create extra bands for the highest-value properties as the basis for a "progressive" tax on property. Raynsford said the current system, under which people in properties worth just over £320,000 pay the same council tax as those in homes worth tens of millions, was "grossly unfair" and a "complete nonsense". Reform of council tax was the way forward, rather than a mansion tax, which would create many anomalies and be complex to introduce. Senior Labour figures fear that, under Miliband's plan, people who are "asset rich but cash poor" – having seen the value of their properties rise – will be unfairly hit by the new tax, with some being driven out of their homes. Read more on the Observer website.

Housing: New Homes Bonus- Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish his Department's review of the New Homes Bonus. 

Brandon Lewis: Officials are currently finalising the evaluation report before submitting it to Ministers. The findings of the evaluation will then be published in due course.

Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to publish the findings of the research he commissioned from the University of Sheffield into the New Homes Bonus.  

Kris Hopkins: The Department is undertaking a wider evaluation of the New Homes Bonus; its findings will be published in due course.

Former Housing Minister Sets Out New Housing Vision

In a new paper, Nick Raynsford MP - who was Labour's minister for housing between 1999 and 2001 - has set out the challenges he believes the housing industry is facing.  Raynsford believes that the coalition’s response to the housing crisis has centred around demand side solutions like the Help to Buy scheme, incentives and planning reform - efforts that have not led to the necessary changes for a more functional housebuilding model.

Download a copy of the report - 'The challenge of the housing crisis' - from the TCPA website.

Reform Will Lead to Surge in Bailiffs Recovering Debts

Former housing minister Nick Raynsford has warned the Government’s planned £500m cut in council tax benefit is widely expected to prompt a surge in bailiffs recovering council tax debts.  The Government wants to devolve council tax benefit, requiring councils to set up schemes that will protect pensioners from cuts. However, they will have to do it with £500m less, as the Government wants to cut expenditure on the benefit by 10%.  Raynsford asked the Government what it is doing to prevent an “escalation of intrusive, expensive interventions against low-income households?”  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Jonathan Djanogly, said: “If there are debts to be collected, bailiffs have to go and collect them; otherwise, the system would break down. However, the Government are clear that aggressive bailiff activity is unacceptable, and we are committed to introducing effective proposals that protect the public and ensure that bailiff action is proportionate.”  Read more on the Parliament website.