The Government has hit back at claims that its flagship housing policy, which hands out cash to councils for allowing new homes, is a "big con". Public service union Unison says the cash is being stripped out of existing grant schemes and unfairly penalises areas where there is a weak housing market. This is because the bonus is calculated using a national average of the council tax band of the home being built. Thus, the union says, areas with a weaker housing market won’t be able to attract as much cash as more affluent areas. However, a spokesperson for the CLG hit back at the claims, saying "Unison’s claim that there is no new money is simply wrong. The New Homes Bonus scheme is fully funded with new money in the first year and will receive almost £1bn of new money over the next four years. Under the New Homes Bonus, three out of the five top earners this year are in the North or Midlands. This is in part because the extra cash is not only going towards building new homes, but also encouraging councils to bring old homes back into use.” Read more on 24dash.
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