Minister Defends 'Immoral' Right to Buy Marketing

The government has been slammed as ‘immoral’ for splashing more than £900,000 on a marketing campaign to promote the right to buy.  Tenants groups and councils have accused the CLG of wasting money after Inside Housing revealed that the total spend on marketing the reinvigorated policy had topped £900,000, including almost £500,000 on direct marketing to tenants.  But housing minister Mark Prisk has sprung to the government’s defence, saying it has sparked ‘a huge surge in interest’ from tenants looking to buy their homes. He also urged councils to do more to ensure tenants knew about the policy. Critics of the spending have claimed that tenants have not flocked to take up the new discounts because of the constrained mortgage market, rather than a lack of awareness of increased discounts.  Read more on Inside Housing.