Council Agree £21m Loan To Firm Which Lost £6m

Norwich city council has agreed to lend its own housing company up to £21m to prevent the firm’s collapse, after bosses insisted “lessons were learned” from the loss of £6m of taxpayers’ money. The city council set up housing firm Norwich Regeneration Ltd in 2015 to create 1,000 homes at Rayne Park, in Bowthorpe. And the authority loaned the business millions of pounds to fund the project’s completion. But it was revealed the company lost £6m after initial homes were sold for less than they cost to build and the council was overcharged according to a leaked report. Read more on the Eastern Daily Press website.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/city-council-lend-millions-to-housing-firm-lessons-learned-dave-shaw-1-6694852

Eviction Rate Doubles Under 'Unjust' Bedroom Tax

A council's eviction rate has doubled since the government's controversial bedroom tax came into effect last April. A freedom of information request found that Norwich City Council evicted 16 households due to rent arrears between April 2013 and January 2014, compared with eight in the same period the year before. Read more on 24dash.

Stricter Rules Target Council House Waiting List

Norwich and South Norfolk councils have introduced stricter rules for social housing allocations in a bid to focus support on those most in need.  They have tightened the waiting list rules after research into their choice based lettings scheme, by KPMG, revealed that about 70% of applicants in south Norfolk had little or no need for social homes, while just over half of the 4,000 applicants on the register, including one applicant who registered in 1968, had never bid for a home.  Norwich City Council - which has nearly 7,000 households on its register - said it had people living in Glasgow on its waiting list.  New rules now mean people on the register need a local connection and must apply on the phone or in person.  Meanwhile, South Norfolk Council - which has just over 4,000 households on its register - has replaced its online application form with an interview by council staff after 80% of applicants were found to be incorrectly filling out their application form.  In addition, households who find a home are prohibited from joining the register for a year.  Read more on the Norwich Evening News website.