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City Hall hits out over Brokenshire’s failure to commit to no-deal grant package
The government’s failure to meet the sector’s call to commit £5.2bn of grant to keep London building through a no-deal Brexit has been branded “disappointing”.
The government’s failure to meet the sector’s call to commit £5.2bn of grant to keep London building through a no-deal Brexit has been branded “disappointing”.
James Murray, deputy London mayor for housing, hit out after housing secretary James Brokenshire made no commitments for extra grant in response to a letter co-signed by the G15 group of large housing associations and London Councils last month.
The letter spelled out the impact a no-deal Brexit would have on the social housing sector. It warned that associations would need the cash for new schemes and to convert market sale properties to homes for rent.
Mr Murray told Inside Housing: “We were very disappointed with the response to the letter. It didn’t address our concerns.”
In his response, Mr Brokenshire set out the action the government is already taking to support the sector, including the £4.1bn put towards London via the Affordable Homes Programme, and reassured the mayor that the government is preparing for every Brexit eventuality.
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He also used the letter to outline his disappointment in the 20% drop in latest housing net additions in the capital.
On Monday, the mayor’s office announced an additional £200m of grant to keep affordable housing delivery going in the months after Brexit, including making it easier for homes planned for sale to be converted to rent. The money can only be used for homes that are started in 2019.
In the letter to the sector, Mr Murray said that he would be working to increase the money available and called on the government to match the £200m offered.
This is designed to plug the risk gap that associations are currently facing due to the slowing sales market in the country – and does not cover the necessary measures to cope with a full-scale no-deal scenario.
Matt Campion, chief executive of Shepherds Bush Housing Group, said that the measures were “a good recognition of how the Greater London Authority and housing associations can work together”.
However, he said while the money for homes started in 2019 made sense in terms of keeping the supply pipeline going, some associations would be more concerned about what they have got in their contracts and on site now.
Ian McDermott, chief executive of Catalyst, said any extra grant was welcomed and said “there is an understanding that more subsidy is required for the provision of genuinely affordable homes across the piece”.
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