Policy group rejects work-to-rent plans

The final draft of the housing policy brief, to be voted on at the Labour Party conference, emphasises that need should be the guiding principle for access to social housing.

It marks a clear rebuttal of Ms Flint’s suggestion earlier this year that social housing applicants should be made to sign ‘commitment contracts’, showing their readiness to work.

‘If you regulate social housing too rigorously less fortunate tenants could end up in the private sector where they could be more easily exploited.’

David Taylor-Gooby, member of Labour’s housing sub-group

The brief is the result of two years’ debate by the party’s housing subgroup, which was set up to steer housing policy. In its report setting out the party’s emerging housing policy, to be presented at next month’s conference, any suggestion of conditions attached to social tenancies is absent, although it does highlight the importance of helping tenants into work.

It reads: ‘We would like to see all local authorities and social landlords working in partnership with other agencies to put in place schemes that provide greater access to employment, adult learning and skills training and support residents into work.’

National policy forum member Daniel Zeichner, who serves on the sub-group, said: ‘Our view is that anything that can be done to improve the situation of people in terms of training needs to be welcomed, but we wouldn’t want it [to be] made mandatory. The response from the Labour Party and representatives has been that we have reservations about a punitive system but are keen to get people out of the benefits trap.’.  

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