New Council Homes Cost £627,000 More Than Expected

A new housing scheme funded by Nottingham City Council has gone way over budget, and new funds have had to be spent to meet the shortfall. Back in 2014, the Council approved funding for 55 new homes, at a cost of £5.915 million. However the total cost of the scheme has ended up at £6.542 million - £627,000 more than originally planned for. The scheme to build 46 houses and nine bungalows was managed by Nottingham City Homes. A council report into the issue said: “This scheme is one of a number of new build schemes delivered by Nottingham City Homes where cost have exceeded the approved budget. In future improvements in budget setting and monitoring are needed to ensure that increased costs are approved in advance. The impact on viability needs to be checked before significant additional costs are committed to.” Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/new-council-homes-cost-627000-1718588

Buy To Let Boom Doubles Housing Price Growth

Average property prices increased by 0.8% in February – double that of the previous month. The demand from landlords and second-home buyers have contributed to a surge in home sales, which are up 12% month-on-month. London’s house prices have risen £36,903 (6.8%) in the past year, which exceeds the average Londoner’s £35,333 annual salary. Read more on 24dash.

Council Tenants' Rents 'Rise Four Times Quicker Than Average Wages'

Council house tenants have seen their rents rise four times quicker than average wages in the past five years, outstripping even the private sector and putting greater pressure on the country’s welfare bill. The average weekly rent for a council house in England rose by 27 per cent between 2010-11 and 2014-15, up from £67.83 to £85.89 per week – an increase of £939 in annual rent – data from the CLG shows. This was roughly four times faster than wage growth, with average weekly earnings in Great Britain rising barely 6 per cent over the same timeframe. It has also been more than 50 per cent faster than the rise in council rents during the previous five-year period. Read more on the Independent website.

Right to Buy Sales Outstrip New Social Rented Homes

The number of social rented homes sold under Right to Buy annually has now outstripped the number built. Government figures show that more social housing tenants exercised their Right to Buy in 2013/14 than the number of new social rented homes built in England and Wales. In 2013/14, there were 11,514 Right to Buy sales and 10,920 units of additional social rented homes, the CLG figures show. In 2012/13, there were 6,114 Right to Buy sales and 17,620 additional social rented homes. In addition to social rented housing, 19,740 ‘affordable rent’ homes were built in 2013/14. The last time there were more Right to Buy sales than new social rented homes built was in 2005/06 when there were 28,519 sales and 23,630 new social homes. Read more on the ONS website.

Household Debt Serious Threat to UK Recovery, Says Bank of England Deputy

High household debt is a key risk to the recovery, the Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe has warned, saying the Bank's measures to rein in the housing market should be thought of as insurance against a major crash. In a speech at the International Festival for Business in Liverpool, Cunliffe said UK household debt was equal to 135% of household earnings, compared with 110% in 2000, although it reached 165% in the runup to the financial crisis. The level was markedly higher than in other European countries and on a par with the US, he said. Read more on the Guardian website.

DWP Denies Risk of Breaching Welfare Spending Cap

The DWP has denied that the government risks breaching its self-imposed cap on welfare spending because of the rising cost of disability benefits.  Leaked documents suggested that the government was running out of options to cut costs, while employment and support allowance (ESA) costs continued to rise. Internal government memos reportedly said that the ESA was "one of the largest fiscal risks currently facing the Government", leaving it "vulnerable to a breach" of the cap, which was set at £119.5bn for 2015-16. According to the documents, the cost of ESA was projected to rise by nearly £13bn between the current financial year and 2018-19, largely due to people moving on to the benefit from jobseeker's allowance, which has more sanctions for misconduct. Read more on the Guardian website.