Housing Crisis: More Than 200,000 Homes In England Lie Empty

More than 200,000 homes in England with a total value of £43bn were empty for at least six months during 2016 despite the desperate shortage of properties to rent and buy. According to official figures, Birmingham was the worst affected city outside London with 4,397 empty homes worth an estimated £956m, followed by Bradford and Liverpool. The wealthy borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with 1,399 empty homes worth £664m, was the worst performer in London as super-rich owners rejected renting them out or selling up in favour of leaving their properties lying idle. Read more on the Guardian website.

Barwell Blocks Council's Local Plan

Gavin Barwell has forced Bradford Council to pause its Local Plan because the council wants to build 11,000 homes on green belt land. The Labour-run council was due to send the Local Plan to the executive for final approval but this was postponed after housing minister Gavin Barwell issued a holding direction. Mr Barwell’s intervention came after he was lobbied by local Conservative MP Philip Davies to stop the Local Plan’s adoption because the council’s plan includes building 11,000 homes on green belt land by 2030. A council spokesperson said building on the green belt is necessary because of the “scale of building land required”. Read more on Inside Housing.

Hopkins 'Grateful To Prime Minister' After Losing Housing Job

Kris Hopkins says he is "honoured that the prime minister has shown continued faith in him" after being removed as housing minister less than a year into the role. Hopkins was moved sideways within CLG from housing to local government in David Cameron's reshuffle to make way for newly promoted Brandon Lewis, in what appears to be a more senior housing brief that also includes planning. In his role as Minister for Local Government, the former Bradford Council leader will also have responsibility for adult social care, community pubs, and planning policy relating to wind farms and solar energy. Read more on 24dash.

All You Need To Know About the New Housing Appointments

Pen pictures of the new junior minister for housing and his shadow in the Labour Party.

Kris Hopkins

Before entering the political arena, Mr Hopkins was a member of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and served in Kenya, Northern Ireland and Germany. As a former Bradford council leader, Mr Hopkins was elected as the MP for Keighley in 2010 after standing twice before, Halifax in 2005 and Leeds West in 2001. During his time as a local councillor, Mr Hopkins covered social services and council housing, and he oversaw the delivery of housing stock transfer in Bradford.

Emma Reynolds

Emma was elected as the MP for Wolverhampton North East in 2010 and since October 2011 she has covered the shadow minister for Europe role. An Oxford University graduate, studying philosophy, politics and economics, Emma has previously worked for the Party of European Socialists in Brussels as an adviser to Robin Cook and was later appointed as political advisor to Geoff Hoon in his role as Europe minister and then chief whip.

Read more on Inside Housing.

36 Councils Call On Government to Abolish Bedroom Tax

Councillors representing 36 local authorities have urged the government to abolish its controversial bedroom tax policy. At a special summit held at Manchester Town Hall, Labour councillors representing Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Birmingham, Nottingham and 31 other cities outlined the damage they believe is being caused by the under-occupancy policy.  The participating councils also agreed to work with housing organisations on a set of interventions to support residents who get into financial difficulty as a result of the government's changes to housing benefit.  A detailed report on the meeting's findings will be sent to the government in the coming weeks. Read more on 24dash.