Housing Infrastructure Fund :Written Statement

The Government announces that we will invest £866 million to help unlock up to 200,000 new homes through 133 Marginal Viability Fund projects, within the Housing Infrastructure Fund. The Government has set out a plan that puts us on track to increase housing supply to 300,000 homes a year and this first wave of funding from the £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market. This investment will fund key local infrastructure projects including new roads, cycle paths, flood defences and land remediation work where it is needed for new housing to be built. Without this financial support, these projects would struggle to go ahead or take years for work to begin, delaying the homes these communities need.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-02-01/HCWS440

Compulsory Pay to Stay Scrapped – Parliamentary Statement

Gavin Barwell: “Social housing has a crucial role to play in supporting those in most housing need. To that end, powers were provided for in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to introduce an income based rents policy, requiring local authorities to set higher rents for higher income council tenants. Since the summer, the Government has been reviewing this policy. We have listened carefully to the views of tenants, local authorities and others and as a result, we have decided not to proceed with a compulsory approach. Local authorities and housing associations will continue to have local discretion.” Read more on the Parliament website.

Local Housing Allowance – Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness Thomas of Winchester To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they will take to protect and enhance the amount of local housing allowance paid by local authorities in England in order to meet the accommodation and support needs of persons with learning disabilities.

Lord Freud: A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 1 March 2016 to announce that the effect of the Local Housing Allowance cap for those living in social sector supported housing, including those with learning disabilities, would be deferred by a year, pending the outcome of a review. We have done this because we understand the importance of ensuring that both those living in supported housing and those who provide this type of accommodation receive appropriate protections. This is why we are awaiting the outcome of a “Supported Accommodation” research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable and appropriate groups are safeguarded.

Housing Associations – Written Statement [Edit]

Greg Clark: Housing associations are voluntary organisations and we are committed to reflecting their historic voluntary ethos and strongly believe they should continue to be independent of government. That belief is reflected in our decision to extend Right to Buy to housing association tenants by accepting a voluntary offer from the sector rather than implementing the policy through legislation. As set out in our agreement with the housing association sector on Right to Buy, the Government is committed to developing deregulatory measures to help housing associations build more homes and help more people into home ownership. I now intend to bring forward a package of deregulatory measures that will deliver this commitment while also aiming to return housing associations to the private sector in the future. Read the full statement on the Parliament website.

Housing Associations: Written Statement

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has altered, with retrospective effect, how private registered providers of social housing (commonly known as housing associations) are treated in the National Accounts. ONS has concluded that housing associations should have been classified as public rather than private since 2008, due to several of the regulatory requirements imposed by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 introduced by the previous Government. ONS will now apply this change retrospectively back to 2008. This is purely a statistical change. Reclassification makes no material changes to the operation of housing associations, does not nationalise housing associations and the Government have no plans to impose new controls on the sector – including over spending or borrowing. Housing associations will continue to be able to access those existing Government programmes that have been open to them. Read the full statement on the Parliament website.

Extension Of The Right To Rent Scheme – Parliamentary Written Statement

James Brokenshire - Home Office: I am announcing the roll out of the second phase of the measures relating to the private rented sector as prescribed by sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014, otherwise known as the Right to Rent scheme. Where these provisions apply, landlords are prohibited from renting accommodation to people who are disqualified from a right to rent by virtue of their immigration status. The provisions will come into force across the whole of England as of 1 February 2016. Read more on the Parliament website.

Right to Buy: Agreement with Housing Associations – Parliamentary Written Statement

The Government is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the National Housing Federation, which will extend Right to Buy discounts to at least 1.3 million more families across the country.

We want more people to be able to own a home of their own. The Right to Buy is a key part of this, and has already helped two million families to realise their dream of home ownership.

Until now, Right to Buy discounts have only been available to tenants in local authority properties and some former council properties. Extending these discounts to housing association tenants in England will end this unfairness, and will deliver our manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants.

Under the agreement, all homes sold to tenants will be replaced on a one for one basis, delivering an overall increase in housing supply. Housing associations have a strong track record in the delivery of new homes, playing a major role in exceeding the Government’s 2011-15 affordable homes target by delivering nearly 186,000 homes.

The agreement will mean that the first housing association tenants will be able to start to buy their homes from next year.

Read more on the Parliament website.