You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Morning Briefing: Grenfell-style cladding is human rights breach, says watchdog
The government’s human rights agency has warned that the use of Grenfell-style cladding is a breach of human rights law.
In the news
Yesterday’s The Observer ran with a letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the government warning that the use of dangerous cladding breaches human rights law.
The letter, which has not yet received a response, said the continued use of this cladding around the country means the government is in breach of its obligation to protect its citizens’ right to life.
The same newspaper also covered data from pressure group Generation Rent, which suggests that hundreds of families are being made homeless every week in ‘no-fault’ evictions.
Such evictions have more than doubled since 2009, and account for 94% of the rise in evictions since then.
Meanwhile, The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that 14 council leaders in Yorkshire are considering pulling out of the region’s asylum seeker housing scheme.
They have signed a letter to home secretary Sajid Javid saying there is a risk of “catastrophic failure” for the scheme.
Elsewhere, the Financial Times has a lengthy and interesting piece on how London mayor Sadiq Khan has done so far at tackling the housing crisis.
It includes figures from Savills suggesting that his raised thresholds for affordable housing have helped to push down London land values, making the delivery of affordable housing easier.
Also in London, Kensington and Chelsea Council has cut back on an overnight counselling service for Grenfell survivors living in hotels, the Evening Standard reports.
Safety is still a key issue across the capital, and the BBC has run a piece talking to some of the residents of Broadwater Farm, who are set to be evacuated over fears their block could collapse.
And The Telegraph has run a piece on the government’s £200m fund to build homes on brownfield land, which it says has fallen flat.
According to the paper the number of homes built on brownfield land has actually fallen since the fund was introduced.
On social media
Let’s tackle the housing problem by capturing more of the benefits of house building for the community - not just developers@ukonward and 14 other housing charities & campaign groups from @Shelter to the @CPRE have written to @mhclg today backing reformt.co/HBUkzxVdYE
— Neil O’Brien MP (@NeilDotObrien)Let’s tackle the housing problem by capturing more of the benefits of house building for the community - not just developers@ukonward and 14 other housing charities & campaign groups from @Shelter to the @CPRE have written to @mhclg today backing reformhttps://t.co/HBUkzxVdYE
— Neil O'Brien MP (@NeilDotObrien) August 20, 2018
