Households In Labour Areas Picking Up Tab For Others' Unpaid Council Tax

Homeowners are having to pay higher council tax in Labour-controlled areas because up to one in ten bills is allowed to go unpaid, new figures show. In the worst-hit areas Labour councils have unpaid council tax bills of up to £100 million, the equivalent of £439 for every household. It means that people who do pay their bills are being forced to subsidise those who do not, as councils have to increase council tax across the board to make up for the shortfall. The 10 local authorities with the worst council tax collection rates in England are all Labour-run, as are the 10 councils with the biggest cumulative council tax arrears. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/04/22/council-tax-bills-could-439-cheaper-town-halls-collected-fees/

More New Homes Built Under Labour Councils Than Tory Ones

George Osborne’s “we are the builders” pledge has been blasted after a study claimed far fewer houses are being built in Tory shires than Labour ones. Just 1,537 homes have been built under the average Tory council since 2010 - compared to 2,112 under the average Labour council. Overall 176,130 homes were built under Labour councils, 249,580 under Tory councils and 26,150 under Lib Dem councils, the study by Labour of independent House of Commons Library data said. The number of voters and size of each council area were not taken into account. Read more on the Daily Mirror website.

The Great Housing Crisis: Labour Beats Tories over New Homes

Labour councils are building twice as many homes in their areas as Conservatives local authorities, new research reveals today. Since the last election, an average of 403 social and affordable homes have been built in each Labour council area, compared with 201 in each Tory-held authority. There are an average of 618 social and affordable homes in the pipeline, with planning permission and financing in place, in each Labour area compared with 365 homes in each Conservative council. Read more on the Independent website.

Sharp Drop in New Affordable Homes Under Coalition

The coalition will commission just 37,000 new affordable homes – a fifth of the number ministers had promised to build by the end of the parliament – with Tory-controlled local authorities giving the go-ahead for an average of just 93 affordable homes per council. Freedom of information requests by the Labour party to 324 local councils showed Tory administrations were building 30% fewer affordable homes than Lib Dem councils and about only 40% of those in Labour authorities, which were planning an average of 211 affordable properties over the next three years. There are concerns that the number of affordable homes, be they in council hands or built by housing associations, has collapsed under the coalition. Last summer official statistics showed the number of "affordable housing starts" for 2011-12 fell by 68% on the previous year.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Labour Councils Bin Fixed-Term Tenancies

The majority of Labour-led councils are rejecting fixed-term tenancies in favour of maintaining security for tenants.  An Inside Housing survey of the 100 largest stock-owning councils in England reveals emerging tenancy and allocation policies and tenancy strategies, to which housing associations must have regard.  Of 50 councils that responded, 29 are in favour of retaining lifetime tenancies, while 16 are backing flexible five-year tenancies, made possible under the Localism Act 2011. The act also gave councils more freedom to restrict eligibility for social housing. Read more on Inside Housing.