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Morning Briefing: City of Edinburgh Council to force owners of abandoned homes to sell up
Owners of abandoned empty homes in Edinburgh are set to be forced to sell under plans being drawn up by the city’s council, according to reports.
In the news
City of Edinburgh Council is expected to push ahead with plans to force owners to sell abandoned empty homes to tackle the city’s housing crisis. Council officers will draw up plans to use compulsory purchase orders to free up housing stock, the Edinburgh Evening News reports.
The city currently has 1,267 properties which have been empty for more than 12 months, while more than 5,000 homes have been vacant for at least six months, the paper reports.
A council worker has admitted defrauding around £60,000 from the Grenfell Tower victims’ fund, the BBC reports.
Jenny McDonagh, 39, took money intended for survivors of the fire and victims’ grieving family members using pre-paid credit cards.
Ms McDonagh, who was finance manager at Kensington and Chelsea Council, reportedly spent the funds on trips to Dubai and Los Angeles, expensive dinners and online gambling.
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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that plans to expand Universal Credit to millions of more people from next year poses a “significant threat of harm” to vulnerable claimants, The Guardian reports.
The mayor wants the rollout to be paused to allow stronger protections to ensure claimants do not fall into hardship when they are moved from legacy benefits and tax credits to the new system, the paper reports.
Elsewhere, the BBC highlights a new study that shows the number of people aged 85 and over needing 24-hour care is set to double.
The analysis, published in The Lancet Public Health journal, found that the number of 65-year-olds and over needing round-the-clock care is also set to rise by a third.
The News Shopper has a piece about £2.5m of unspent Section 106 contributions from developers, being held by Bexley Council in London.
ITV Wales has found that dozens of landlords and letting agents do not allow benefit claimants to rent their properties. This follows research from the National Housing Federation and Shelter earlier this month showing the scale of discrimination against people claiming benefit.
Rockwool, a company that makes non-combustible cladding, is looking to expand following an increase in demand post-Grenfell, the BBC reports.
City of York Council has launched a new shared ownership scheme, in partnership with Homes England, you can read some of the details here.
Norwich Evening News has a report about rats and overflowing bins on an estate managed by Cotman Housing Association.
On social media
Tom Murtha, former chief executive of Midland Heart, is unhappy about the voluntary Right to Buy pilot:
And so the madness continues. When everyone now recognises we need more social rent homes we are selling them off. @insidehousing #ukhousing t.co/K9LoSy3gYe
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha)And so the madness continues. When everyone now recognises we need more social rent homes we are selling them off. @insidehousing #ukhousing https://t.co/K9LoSy3gYe
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha) August 30, 2018
