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Morning Briefing: Brokenshire to address Conservative conference
The housing secretary will address delegates at the Conservative Party conference today, and the rest of the weekend’s housing news
In the news
James Brokenshire, housing secretary, will give his keynote speech at the Conservative conference in Birmingham today. We already know much of what the minister will say – last night it was pre-briefed that he would confirm the planned ban on combustible materials on high rises.
The minister may well also have words about the Help to Buy scheme, according to an interview in The Sunday Telegraph, reflecting on concern that the scheme is not doing enough to help first-time buyers, and is supporting unpopular leasehold practices.
He told the paper: “We will reflect carefully on what we’re seeing in the market to ensure that as we look to a post-2021 position, and we’ve made no decisions over this as yet, as to what is needed to support that sense of homeownership, of first-time buyers, of getting people onto the housing ladder, and what we need to do next to ensure that that vision of homeownership is felt by more people,” he added.
Mr Brokenshire will also discuss plans for £165m to build an athlete’s village in Birmingham, including 5,000 homes and change rules to help builders increase the size of existing buildings.
Elsewhere, Theresa May will up stamp duty on foreign buyers to fund rough sleeping initiatives. The move has seen the biggest house builders’ share prices dip.
In related news, London has seen a record stamp duty take despite share prices falling.
In local news, a Derbyshire paper reports on plans in Burton to require siblings to share bedrooms when social housing is allocated.
Construction has slipped from the seventh to the 12th most popular profession for 22 to 29-year-olds in the space of six years, according to latest data from the Office for National Statistics, which is reported in Construction Enquirer.
The Guardian has a story about the battle to save a site in Culloden, Scotland, where Jacobite forces made their last stand. There are now plans to build 16 luxury homes around the historic area, with more planning applications in the pipeline. A demonstration against the development is to be held at Culloden Battlefield next week.
Meanwhile, South Cambridgeshire has adopted its new local plan which paves the way for 19,500 homes to be built in the area. The Cambridge Independent has more.
The BBC reports that Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Police want to ban begging in the city centre and in two nearby retail parks in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour. Anyone found begging could face a £100 fine under the new proposals.
MP Frank Field and his parliamentary researcher Andrew Forsey have published a report on social care, and the findings are stark. Social care workers are cutting short visits to frail elderly people, or working unpaid overtime to keep up with huge workloads, it found.
Some are paid as little as £5 an hour for helping older people to live at home, which includes tasks such as assisting with eating, taking medication and getting out of bed. One in three earn less than the national minimum wage or national living wage because they are not paid for time spent travelling between clients. The Guardian has the details.
The Scottish Government has accused the UK government of forcing thousands of families into poverty as a result of cuts to welfare support.
An annual report from Holyrood found that by 2020/21 social security spending in Scotland is expected to have reduced by £3.7bn since 2010. The UK government’s benefit freeze alone has led to huge reductions in spending – around £190m in the current year 2018/2019, rising to around £370m by 2020/21, it found. There is more on the Scottish Government’s website.
And finally, a shocking report from the Evening Standard shows that councils in the UK spent £300m in three years on placing homeless people in hotels and B&Bs, Freedom of Information figures reveal. Inside Housing did similar research at a national level last month.
On social media
The regulator announces its official launch as a standalone organisation:
Today we bid a fond “farewell” to HCA and @homesengland as the Regulator of Social Housing becomes a standalone organisation. Rest assured our focus remains to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector, working closely with @mhclg colleagues #UKhousing
— Regulator of Social Housing (@RSHEngland)Today we bid a fond “farewell” to HCA and @homesengland as the Regulator of Social Housing becomes a standalone organisation. Rest assured our focus remains to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector, working closely with @mhclg colleagues #UKhousing
— Regulator of Social Housing (@RSHEngland) October 1, 2018
The prime minister’s aide responds to Julia Hartley-Brewer’s election advice:
We are - new homes at near record levels - but @JuliaHB1 right that we need to go further t.co/mQi6VLuhor
— Gavin Barwell (@GavinBarwell)We are - new homes at near record levels - but @JuliaHB1 right that we need to go further https://t.co/mQi6VLuhor
— Gavin Barwell (@GavinBarwell) September 30, 2018
