Housing And Planning Bill Reveals How Little Tory MPs Think Of The Public

While the nation’s eyes have been fixed firmly on the Junior Doctors Strike, the Tories have managed to pull-off a seismic coup de grâce under the radar – the “Housing and Planning Bill” has been passed, by 309 to 216. The whole passage of this bill has been nothing short of disgraceful. The first part of the Reading Stage was originally scheduled for a 3.30pm start. Proceedings didn't kick off until nearly 9pm and wound-up at an eye-watering 2am. 65 pages of new clauses and amendments had been cunningly added at the last minute - with no discussion at committee level, which is standard procedure. Some of the more worrying points included the Secretary of State being awarded carte blanche to interfere in the market and set the definition of what is an “affordable” home and privatisation of the planning process. Read more on the Independent website.

Osborne Reveals Record Sale Of Public Housing Debt To Private Investors

George Osborne has announced the sale of £13bn of mortgage debt to private investors, in what is said to be the largest ever sale of financial assets by any European government. In a separate development, the Financial Times has reported that Osborne is considering selling off around £44bn of historic housing association debt. This inevitably prompted a flurry of alarm across the housing industry, with many calling it the privatisation of social housing assets. The Treasury announced that the Chancellor has authorised the sale of the mortgages, which were acquired by the Government during the financial crisis from Northern Rock, the mortgage assets are being sold to capital management firm, Cerberus.  According to the Treasury, the mortgage portfolio is being sold for £280 million more than their “book value”. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Deal Over Right To Buy Could Lead To Privatising Housing Associations

Rather than face the prospect of legislation that would force associations to sell their homes the National Housing Federation, has spent the summer conducting secret negotiations to offer a “voluntary deal” to the government.  There is a great deal of ambiguity about the exact legal status of housing associations – but at present, their £60bn of debt does not sit on the government’s balance sheet. A compulsory Right to Buy scheme could change this forever: if private assets can be forcibly sold, they are clearly not private assets. The government could decide to move to privatise housing associations. The rumour is that investment bank Goldman Sachs has been appointed, to model how a nationalisation and privatisation of housing associations could be carried out.

The NHF believes that introducing a voluntary Right to Buy scheme will avoid compulsion and stave off privatisation. Read more on the CityMetric website.

Think Tank Issues Association Privatisation Warning

Privatising housing associations would be “the most obvious” government reaction to £60bn of debt being added to the national balance sheet, an influential think tank has warned. Chris Walker, head of housing and planning at Policy Exchange, said nationalisation of housing associations followed by a state sell-off into the private sector could become “a serious option” if the Office for National Statistics (ONS) decides to reclassify housing associations as public bodies. Mr Walker said: “The government does not want to be in a position where it is keeping that debt on its balance sheet. If it is relaxed, it must feel it has got potential to move that money off the balance sheet, which suggests it has got a plan.” Read more on Inside Housing.