Live blog - 22nd Dec

5.00pm

And… that’s it from the Live blog today!

What have we learned? An additional million people will plunge into debt this Christmas, ALMOs are expanding into the private rented sector, Leeds council’s rent arrears level is up, and calling Alex Salmond an arsehole won’t get you fired, but is, nevertheless, ill-advised.

Finally, there’s been no update on talks between Stormont and Westminster on Northern Ireland’s budget, welfare reform and other issues. So it looks like it might be a long night for those involved.

4.30pm

A blog by Katharine Sacks-Jones, head of policy at Crisis, discusses what people really think about homelessness. Research by Crisis has found that 68% of British people think, however hard we try to help, some people will always be homeless.More positively, 83% think all homeless people should be given another opportunity. You can read the blog here.

And here’s a photo of 13 recently completed flats built by Islington Council, replacing an area of garages and disused land in Finsbury Park.

3.00pm

A board member at the Scottish Housing Regulator has been cleared of breaching the code of conduct through an abusive tweet. Mike Dailly tweeted on 21 June last year: ‘We have an arsehole as First Minister, let’s be honest…’ Mr Dailly apologised on Twitter several days later. Read more here.

2.00pm

Interesting story by the Yorkshire Evening Post, showing that £700,000 of Leeds Council’s rent arrears is from tenants affected by the bedroom tax. Total arrears have risen by 13% over the past year, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

There’s a report by Tax Payer’s Alliance which claims that the poorest decile of society pays more in tax (as a proportion of their income). The report also states that richer individuals pay more than their fair share in tax, so it’s all a little baffling. We’re not convinced the report presents the information in the clearest format, and the use of VAT expenditure analysis to show that the poor pay disproportionately more in tax is a bit wobbly as an argument - it’s another way of saying that poorer people have less disposable income, which is reasonably obvious. Nevertheless, the findings are intriguing. You can read their report here.

1.00pm

Misleading chart of the day award goes to the Department for Communities and Local Government. It shows the progress of the Troubled Families programme, which tackles anti-social behaviour, truancy and unemployment.

It’s a line graph with a curve that suggests upwards progress, but the numbers are cumulative (so just include all the previous numbers added together). Here’s another example of using a line graph to show cumulative numbers in a curve. It shows the progress of me having lunch this week.

In truth, the government committed to helping 120,000 families by 2015. It looks as if they’re not going to hit this target, based on current progress. The department is 34,697 families short of its original target.

12.15pm

Oh dear… we’ve just seen that Keith Edwards, who recently stepped aside from the role of CIH Cymru director, has issued a howl of despair (via Twitter) over Inside Housing’s 2014 review of the year. Our review, in last week’s magazine, said that ‘Wales is on the up’… shortly after Mr Edwards left the role. Oops.

Plus, a good explanation and fact checking of the story breaking last week about 1 in 10 council homes going to foreigners (it was new lettings data) by Ampp3d here.

Factcheck: The claim that 1 in 10 council houses are occupied by ‘foreigners’ is inaccurate http://t.co/sxf7I2qi8K pic.twitter.com/Iu7ztM8MUD

— Ampp3d (@ampp3d) December 22, 2014

But there is an upward trend in new lets to non-UK nationals - up 60% since 2007/8. Here’s what we tweeted out about it last week.

11.30am

The National Housing Federation has posted a housing quiz on Buzzfeed. See how well you know the sector by testing yourself here.

And the street lights story has flickered back on today, with news that councils are turning street lights off, or dimming them, to save energy. Sounds sensible, but then again, it may affect crime rates. Eric Pickles, minister for darkness, was overruled by police in May when officers ordered lights to be turned back on in Essex following a spike in burglaries. The BBC sheds some light on the topic here.

11.00am

Today may just be the end of the saga on non-implementation of welfare reform in Northern Ireland. A spokesperson from the Northern Ireland Office confirmed to Inside Housing that talks must end today (even if they go on into the night and through to tomorrow morning). An update will be released by the NIO on twitter and through their website when talks are concluded. Here’s our coverage of Ms Villier’s ultimatum, which was released through a statement on Twitter.

10.30am

Here’s Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villier’s statement on welfare reform talks between Stormont and Westminster, issued through the NIO’s twitter account:

1/2: SofS Villiers ‘It’s “make your mind up” time for the NI’s political leaders. These talks finish tomorrow, even if it takes all night.

— NIO (@NIOPressOffice) December 21, 2014

10.15am

Some impressive Christmas attire at First Wessex, supporting the campaign to end the housing crisis.

…to support Ho Ho #HomesforBritain! Let’s start 2015 as we mean to finish it; ending the housing crisis https://t.co/iyjE6O0Z2k#UKhousing

— First Wessex (@FirstWessex) December 22, 2014

10.00am

A worrying survey by Circle Housing shows that one fifth of last year’s Christmas borrowers are still in the red. A million more people than last year will use a credit or loan product to finance the Christmas period. One in twenty borrowers (5%) say that they will turn to payday lenders for help this Christmas, while 4% say that they will use door step lenders. What can social landlords do to help stem the tide of high-interest and long-term debt taken on by some 6 million people over Christmas this year?

9.30am

A housing association in Birmingham has held a Christmas party from 150 children living in refuges. Sahdaish Pall, who works at Ashrammosely Housing Association has written about it here.

The party was held on 21 December in Birmingham, for children who are living in six of the city’s refuges.

@TheAccordGroup@sahdaish @GdnSocialCare Brightened our day! @sitrapolicylove to cover it on the Bulletin http://t.co/Rv4u23plVP pls DM me

— Burcu Borysik (@BurcuBorysik) December 19, 2014

9.15am

James Caspell, this year’s Inside Housing rising star winner is delighted to share a 2-page spread in last week’s magazine with Russell Brand. He’s tweeted about it here:

Sharing an @insidehousingcentre-spread with @rustyrockets. #ukhousing#COYI#TOWIEpic.twitter.com/fpD3mTgl7G

— James Caspell (@jjcaspell) December 22, 2014

8.45am

Morning all!

The housing news for this morning is focussed on talks in Northern Ireland, which have been ongoing over the weekend.

Speaking on Sunday, Theresa Villiers, secretary of state, has said it is ‘make your mind up time’ for Northern Ireland’s political leaders and that if there is no agreement today then the ‘process will end in failure’. Talks between Northern Ireland and Westminster took place over the weekend with a conference call held with David Cameron. A decision on welfare reform, as well as discussion of flags, parades and the legacy of The Troubles, is needed. All five main parties in Northern Ireland have asked the UK government for £2bn in loans, plus further funding over a 10-year period.

A report by the National Federation of arm’s-length management organisations (NFA) gives the key numbers from 2014 across 47 ALMOs, showing a 20% increase in homes built, but bemoaning the current borrow restrictions imposed on councils. Interestingly, there has been more than a 200% jump the number of private rented sector homes managed by ALMOs over the last year.

A House of Commons report looks at the Conservatives’ plans for a benefit freeze if they win the next election, and finds that 75% of the savings would come from women. The report found that £2.4bn of the £3.2bn savings will be provided by women and £800m by men.