Why Is Housing Policy Such A Mess?

One of the lesser noted aspects of the last few years is a soaring housing benefit bill. The rate of increase has slowed somewhat in the last four years yet the increase is still £4billion or so per annum. This is despite the initiation of policies such as the benefits cap that were intended to reduce the outlay. What on earth is going on?  Government policy is driving people from the socially rented to the ‘affordable rent’ sector- ie to housing with higher rents (up to 80% of market value). At the same time, social house building has been very low. One Government department, the CLG, is increasing rents and cutting housing investment and another one, the DWP, is having to foot the bill. Right to Buy is reducing the stock further without simultaneous house-building. Housing Associations are building up surpluses but, as a glacial sector, they are failing to build at a sufficient rate. Read more on the RSA website.

Public Should Tackle ASB

The general public and frontline workers such as housing officers should be trained in community safety skills to tackle anti-social behaviour, a report has found. The study from the Royal Society of Arts says local authority figures and residents could be more effective in tackling low-level problems than the police. The Woolwich Model - How citizens can tackle anti-social behaviour concludes that while public concern for low-level disorder remains high, citizens have little or no confidence to intervene. The report argues that giving people the capacity to respond to anti-social behaviour and defuse conflict could, if pursued alongside continuing support for other forms of community policing, help reduce the problem. Download a copy of the report from the RSA website by clicking on the logo below.