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Morning Briefing: Labour hits out at government over cuts that created Grenfell ‘time bomb’
Labour calls for a review of fire service funding, a 5,000-home scheme in Newcastle gets a funding boost, and should more housing associations attend charity sector events?
In the news:
The Independent is reporting comments from Labour MP Karen Lee about government cuts to fire inspectors.
The shadow fire minister wants a review of fire service funding and to create a national standard framework of fire inspectors “numbers and competency”, the newspaper reports.
She said: “You cannot cut red tape and cut fire inspectors and then expect there to be no ticking time bombs like Grenfell.”
Inside Housing has previously detailed concerns from fire services over standards of fire inspections in the years preceding the Grenfell Tower fire.
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Is modular housing the future or just a “bundle of trouble”? That’s the question asked by commercial property website Bisnow in this piece here. Inside Housing recently visited L&G’s offsite factory to look at whether modular is the future.
Plans for 5,000 new homes in Newcastle have been given a boost due to a £16m allocation from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, according the local newspaper the Chronicle.
House builder Galliford Try has signed a deal with Homes England to build 850 homes under plans to accelerate the pace of housebuilding.
However, Homes England also stands accused of blocking affordable housing development in the Yorkshire Dales. The Upper Dales Community Land Trust has accused Homes England of “inflexibility” over its plan to build affordable rented homes.
The sticking point is reportedly that Homes England is insisting that organisations bidding for grant funding must be a registered provider of social housing or in partnership with a registered provider.
In the West Midlands, the Solihull Observer has a report about the impact on social housing tenants’ finances of Universal Credit.
Warrington Borough Council is “poised” to lend £80m to housing associations Places for People and Irwell Valley Homes, according to website Warrington Worldwide.
Horsham District Council, in west Sussex, is planning to become the latest local authority to set up its own housing company, the details are here.
On social media
Alison Inman and Helen White were discussing why more housing associations don’t attend charity sector events, such as yesterday’s National Council for Voluntary Organisations conference:
Totally agree. I went to the @Civsocfutures launch, @pollyn1 and I were the only people there from the housing sector. Begs the question of where housing organisations think they sit?
— Alison Inman (@Alison_Inman)Totally agree. I went to the @Civsocfutures launch, @pollyn1 and I were the only people there from the housing sector. Begs the question of where housing organisations think they sit?
— Alison Inman (@Alison_Inman) April 1, 2019
While Tpas announced that pictures from its awards ceremony last week are now available:
The @tpasawards photos are now live on the Tpas Facebook account. Go and take a look at all the winners and more. t.co/9G6b9mpnn8 #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/4Lsxp5YFaW
— Tpas England (@tpasengland)The @tpasawards photos are now live on the Tpas Facebook account. Go and take a look at all the winners and more. https://t.co/9G6b9mpnn8 #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/4Lsxp5YFaW
— Tpas England (@tpasengland) April 1, 2019
