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Morning Briefing: Burnham unhappy with housing funding allocations
Figures from the North West have expressed dissatisfaction with the way housing funds favour the South, and the rest of the morning’s housing news
In the news
New data showing housing funding is weighted towards London and the South East has provoked an angry response from the North, including from Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester.
The figures are based on data from Homes England relating to the allocation of £7bn from the Housing Infrastructure Fund Forward Fund, the Estate Regeneration Fund, the Home Building Fund, the Small Sites Fund and the Land Assembly fund.
This results from the government focusing on areas where house prices are rising rapidly and where population growth outstrips supply – which skews the focus onto the South East, as we flagged in an analysis two years ago here.
The Manchester Evening News reports anger about the figures from Paul Dennett, mayor of Salford, while The Business Desk quotes Mr Burnham calling them “perverse”.
Elsewhere you ‘may’ have noticed that everyone is getting very excited about Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Should housing figures want to read the 500+ page document, it is available here. A quick scour for housing related issues shows the EU rules on state aid would be maintained (good news for this sector – they make an exception for affordable housing) and EU workers would continue to benefit from “the rights and benefits accorded to national workers in matters of housing” post-Brexit.
In the Financial Times there is coverage of a report which says average mortgage repayments will reach £11,500 a year by 2023 due to rising interest rates – up from around £8,000 today.
Scottish Housing News reports on a letter from the Scottish Parliament’s local government, housing and planning committee calling for more action to provide housing for elderly and disabled people.
New figures from the Northern Irish Department for Communities show growth in housebuilding – with starts up 3% to 2,536 and completions up 24% to 2,023 in the first quarter of the 2017/18 financial year. In other Northern Irish housing news, rough sleeping in Belfast has trebled.
The Guardian reports on the continuing tour of Britain by the UN special envoy Philip Alston – who has met young people from London to discuss overcrowded housing.
On social media
Tom Murtha is happy about the winds of change:
Great to see the wind of change that is blowing through #ukhousing. Leaders are no longer embarrassed to talk about real social housing and the need to invest in social rent homes. Thank you to those who kept the social housing flame alive when some were trying to extinguish lt.
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha)Great to see the wind of change that is blowing through #ukhousing. Leaders are no longer embarrassed to talk about real social housing and the need to invest in social rent homes. Thank you to those who kept the social housing flame alive when some were trying to extinguish lt.
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha) November 14, 2018
And in Wales, the annual Community Housing Cymru Conference is underway:
It’s all go here at day 1 of Annual Conference, with @Rhianrob busy setting up ready for delegate arrivals. #buildingthefuture pic.twitter.com/tWe5P8ETpJ
— CHCymru (@CHCymru)It’s all go here at day 1 of Annual Conference, with @Rhianrob busy setting up ready for delegate arrivals. #buildingthefuture pic.twitter.com/tWe5P8ETpJ
— CHCymru (@CHCymru) November 15, 2018
What’s on
- At 9.30am the government’s crucial net additions stats will be released, showing how many homes were built last year
- The Community Housing Cymru Conference is taking place in Cardiff
- In London, representatives from the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will appear before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry for the first time