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Morning Briefing: MPs demand answers on green paper delay
Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs are unhappy about the Social Housing Green Paper delay and reports of a controversy over asylum seeker evictions in Glasgow
In the news
A group of 37 Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs has signed a letter demanding answers from housing secretary James Brokenshire on the delay to the publication of the Social Housing Green Paper, the website Politics Home has reported.
The letter reportedly says the delay “demonstrates an abdication of duty by the government”. MPs had promised to publish the green paper before parliament broke up for the summer recess last Tuesday, however it did not materialise. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has since promised to publish the long-awaited paper “shortly”.
Also on the green paper, county councils are calling on ministers to ensure their proposals (when they eventually appear) address “dearth” of retirement housing, The Planner magazine has reported.
It is not just the government that is getting flack – John Healey, shadow housing secretary, has angered local councillors in Scarborough. Mr Healey reportedly told Yorkshire Coast Radio that no social rented homes were built in the area last year, but this was disputed by local councillor Bill Chatt.
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Sajid Javid, home secretary, is being urged to stop private provider Serco from evicting 300 asylum seekers from homes in Glasgow, The Guardian reports.
The charity Positive Action in Housing has also condemned Serco, and also said it “would be helpful if Glasgow housing associations who have leased properties to Serco assert… that no illegal evictions can take place in social housing properties”.
Serco says that it has been providing housing to 300 people free of charge who no longer have the right to stay in the UK, but cannot continue providing free housing “indefinitely”.
House builder Springfield Properties has unveiled plans for 1,900 homes in West Lothian, Scotland, the BBC reports.
The Scotsman newspaper has reported figures from Shelter Scotland showing 38 children are made homeless in Scotland every day.
Councils’ power to determine who is prioritised for social housing has been “strengthened” by a court ruling involving Hillingdon Council, The Municipal Journal has reported. The details are very sketchy, but our journalists will be looking into this in more depth today.
Firefighters were “not trained for the toxic conditions of Grenfell”, the Grenfell Inquiry heard yesterday, reports The Guardian. You can also read Inside Housing’s full round-up from yesterday’s inquiry session here.
A new study into housing need on the Isle of Wight has been published, reports the Isle of Wight County Press newspaper.
On social media
Elly Hoult, programme director at Notting Hill Genesis, tweets the front page of yesterday’s Evening Standard, focusing on James Brokenshire’s criticism of Sadiq Khan’s London Plan
Damning headline on @EveningStandard #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/4XOJ3yRpQb
— Elly Hoult (@HoultElly)Damning headline on @EveningStandard #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/4XOJ3yRpQb
— Elly Hoult (@HoultElly) July 30, 2018
What’s on
- The National Housing Federation’s shared ownership roadshow visits Leeds today
- The Grenfell Inquiry continues in London
- The Chartered Institute of Housing hosts a webinar entitled Longer tenancies for private renters? from 11am until noon
