Mayor Fails To Deny Transfer of Housing Funds

Boris Johnson has refused to deny shifting funds earmarked for affordable rent homes to build homes for sale. Labour members of the London Assembly have raised concerns over a £120 million underspend in the £283 million set aside to fund affordable homes in the capital in 2013/14. He repeatedly refused to deny allegations made by Tom Copley, Labour’s housing spokesperson, that these funds were shifted from the affordable homes programme to the mayor’s housing covenant. Read more on Inside Housing.

Demands to Know Why Housing Cash Was Diverted From Poorest

Boris Johnson is under pressure to reveal why he is using money intended to help house the capital's poorest families to fund new homes for wealthier residents.  Johnson, who caused controversy with his comments over welfare reform when he said there would be "no Kosovo-style social cleansing" of the city's low income households on his watch, has diverted £93.3 million from affordable housing programmes to the Mayor's Housing Covenant, which aims to help middle income earners into homeownership.  Now the chair of the London Assembly's housing committee, Darren Johnson AM, has written to the Mayor demanding to know why. While social and affordable tenants earn on average less than £13,000 per annum the covenant will deliver affordable home ownership option for households earning up to £74,000. Read more on the Housing Excellence website. 

Armed Forces (Housing) – Parliamentary Oral Answer

Rebecca Harris (Castle Point) (Con) and others: What recent steps he has taken to support former members of the armed forces in respect of housing.

Grant Shapps: I am determined to help current and former members of the armed forces gain the housing they deserve. I have given service personnel priority for the Government’s affordable home ownership schemes, including Firstbuy, and on Friday last week I issued new statutory guidance to make it easier for service personnel to get access to affordable homes for rent.

Henry Smith: I am pleased to hear that that guidance is coming forward because my local housing authority has up till now seemed to be confused about where it stands in relation to the military covenant and its obligations under it.

Grant Shapps: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to explain to the House that that new guidance makes it clear to his and every other local authority that this nonsense of people returning, often without a base back in this country because of the amount of time they have served overseas, and then not being able to apply for housing in their area because of some trumped-up allegation that they have no locality—in other words, that they do not have a residency requirement —is to end. That is what the guidance makes absolutely clear.

Housing: Armed Forces – Parliamentary Written Answer

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to support former members of the armed forces to secure social housing.

Grant Shapps: I am determined to help current and former members of the armed forces gain the housing they deserve. Last year I held a housing summit, as part of the military covenant, to discuss how we could ensure that housing was a priority for people who returned from active service for this country.  We are currently consulting on plans to change the law, by regulation, so that former personnel with urgent housing needs are always given high priority on waiting lists, and that personnel who move from base to base do not lose their qualification rights.  We are also consulting on new statutory social allocations guidance for local councils, setting out how their allocation schemes can give priority to current or ex-service personnel, including through the use of local preference criteria and local lettings policies. We aim to lay the secondary legislation as early as possible after the consultation period has closed.