Morning Briefing: Grenfell donations not getting to residents

In the news

Less than 6% of donations to the survivors of the fire have been given to former residents of the tower, the BBC has found.

According to the British Red Cross, the charity has managed to sort through half of what has been donated in the month since the fire, and has put much of it up for sale in British Red Cross shops around the country. The sheer volume of donations means that only brand new items are being given to residents.

Meanwhile The Independent reported yesterday that one in seven social homes do not meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard.

Using data from the English Housing Survey, it found that 525,000 homes do not reach the government’s benchmark for being fit for human habitation. The state of social homes has come under particular scrutiny since the fire at Grenfell Tower just over a month ago.

Iain Duncan Smith has gained some notoriety for wacky housing policies in the past (giving away social housing to tenants for free, remember that?) and he is at it again this morning.

His piece in Conservative Home this morning is not wholly clear, but he does think “too many of the housing associations have grown in size to the point where they now resemble old council estates” and no longer serve tenants.

And in news of other high-profile rappers taking an interest in housing, Dizzee Rascal revealed at the weekend in an interview with The Guardian that he is currently reading Big Capital: Who Is London For? by Anna Minton, a new book tracing the history of the housing crisis.

On social media

Jamie Ratcliff, assistant director of housing at the Greater London Authority, apologised last night for his criticism of Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green.

Yesterday, he called out Ms West for inaccuracies in a comment piece she wrote for Inside Housing about the controversial Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV).

In the piece, she said the HDV, a joint venture with private developer Lendlease, would sacrifice too much of the council’s control over its housing.

Hi Clive, absolutely. I’ve already emailed Catherine an apology and deleted the tweets. Thanks, Jamie

— Jamie Ratcliff (@Jamrat_)

Hi Clive, absolutely. I've already emailed Catherine an apology and deleted the tweets. Thanks, Jamie

— Jamie Ratcliff (@Jamrat_) July 17, 2017

What’s on

The Housing Quality Network has its annual conference today at Church House, Westminster.

In one key event, Inside Housing columnist Jules Birch will join other experts to discuss the Grenfell Tower fire and the immediate lessons to be learned.