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From the archive – Liverpool Council faces racism probe
Inside Housing looks at what was happening in the sector 10, 20 and 30 years ago this week
30 years ago
A formal investigation by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) found that Liverpool Council’s housing department had discriminated against black people in its nominations procedures.
The probe, which followed a 1984 report that showed black people in Liverpool were being given poorer-quality housing than white people, found that the council favoured white people in a number of ways when it came to nominating for housing associations. They were twice as likely to get a house rather than a flat, four times more likely to get a newly built house, and almost twice as likely to get a home with central heating.
Michael Day, chair of the CRE, said that the report “reveals what can go wrong when, despite the CRE’s advice, a local authority fails to take steps to avoid racial discrimination”.
20 years ago
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) announced plans to remove sectarian symbols on its estates in an effort to encourage better community relations.
Kerbstone painting, murals and graffiti were all set to be targeted in what was described as a “bold and impressive” move to end the intimidation of minority groups.
The NIHE admitted that the move would require careful handling to avoid stoking further conflict and could take years to carry out.
The executive, which had been criticised previously for failing to adequately address segregation, launched the plans after research revealed strong grassroots support for improved community relations.
Sid McDowell, chair of the NIHE, said: “We will intervene when our intervention is welcome and will achieve something. But it depends entirely on what communities want.
“The difficult and evil people who are out there mean there are dangers at all levels. Tenants’ representatives, housing managers and community groups are going to have to work very carefully.”
In 1998, 16 NIHE estates reported multiple incidents of intimidation.
Picture: Getty
10 years ago
The government’s new housing delivery body, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), dished out £2.8bn in grant in its first four months of existence, as it sought to revive social housebuilding in the wake of the financial crash.
As exclusively revealed by Inside Housing, the funding windfall for housing associations and private developers was expected to help the delivery of 28,376 social homes and 12,210 low-cost ownership homes.
Nine of the 10 largest payouts in the HCA’s debut funding round went to London-based housing associations, with Catalyst Housing Group the biggest winner, netting an allocation of £154.5m, and L&Q bagging £153.3m. Between them, the top recipients netted £1bn from the new agency to fund 11,578 homes.
