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Two-thirds of the adults affected by the Grenfell Tower fire last June have shown signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
In the news
That is the shocking finding of a report presented to Kensington and Chelsea Council’s leadership last week, The Guardian said.
Of 2,200 people screened for PTSD at the end of June who had lost family members or escaped the blaze, 67% were found to need treatment. The report says this figure “is higher than found in other post-trauma contexts”.
In other news, The Sun appears to have been briefed that the government’s new planning rules will mean developers have “no more excuses” to delay building new homes.
The updated National Planning Policy Framework was published yesterday afternoon, along with the rules for the Housing Delivery Test.
Ministers were also due to publish the much-awaited Social Housing Green Paper yesterday, but it did not materialise. Mental health charity Mind was among the organisations to express dismay at this new delay to the document, per Politics Home and yours truly.
Meanwhile, the mother of a disabled woman has written an open letter to Bournemouth City Council, which claims that its housing policy is discriminating against her daughter.
The letter, published by the Bournemouth Daily Echo, raises some pertinent questions about how allocations can work against vulnerable groups.
And the Barking and Dagenham Post runs a piece about the homeless families forced miles outside of London as the council turns to “last resort” measures. The paper reports that Barking and Dagenham Council moved 1,122 households into temporary accommodation outside the borough between 2012 and 2017.
A senior officer of Liverpool City Council has warned that families are living in squalor across the city because they are too afraid of eviction to complain about their landlords, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Three stories, perhaps, which highlight why a thorough plan for the future of social housing can’t come quickly enough.
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, wrote a blog post yesterday about the opportunity presented to the sector by the green paper, when it eventually does appear.
Elsewhere, housing association Poplar Harca has won planning permission for a 640-home regeneration scheme of the Chrisp Street Market Estate in Tower Hamlets, the The Docklands & East London Advertiser reports.
And finally, Donald Trump has entered the housing market in Scotland. The Trump Organisation has announced plans to build 500 homes at the US president’s golf resort in Aberdeenshire, according to the BBC.
On social media
Despite a promise from @JBrokenshire to the victims of #Grenfell last month that the government’s much hyped but delayed plans for social housing would be published before recess, I understand this will now not happen. @mhclg
— Mark Easton (@BBCMarkEaston)Despite a promise from @JBrokenshire to the victims of #Grenfell last month that the government's much hyped but delayed plans for social housing would be published before recess, I understand this will now not happen. @mhclg
— Mark Easton (@BBCMarkEaston) July 24, 2018
Is the absence of the Green Paper an indication of way the government really thinks about social housing?
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha)Is the absence of the Green Paper an indication of way the government really thinks about social housing?
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha) July 24, 2018
What’s on
The House of Commons has now gone into recess – meaning MPs will not meet in parliament again until 4 September. The government has now missed its deadline to publish the Social Housing Green Paper, though it could still do so during recess. Indeed, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told Inside Housing the green paper will be published “shortly”.
Meanwhile, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will continue today with more firefighter evidence.