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MHCLG promises green paper ‘shortly’ amid criticism for missed recess deadline

The government has said it intends to publish its much-delayed Social Housing Green Paper “shortly” after breaking its promise to release it before parliament’s summer break.

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MHCLG promises green paper “shortly” amid criticism for missed recess deadline #ukhousing

Ministers had promised to publish the policy document before MPs went on recess today, but has failed to do so.

A spokesperson gave no reason for the delay in the publication of the document which was originally intended for release in the spring.

Various sector sources had been briefed by officials to expect publication over the past few days and it is not clear why the government has opted against doing so.


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The green paper was first promised by Sajid Javid in September last year, when he said it would be “the most substantial report of its kind for a generation”.

He said it would represent a “top-to-bottom review of the issues facing the sector” in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire last year.

Then-housing minister Alok Sharma carried out a number of roadshows with tenants to help research it, but was reshuffled in January before they completed.

His successor Dominic Raab picked up the roadshows and the government promised the paper would be published “by spring”.

However, he too was reshuffled in July with the government then committing to release the document by the end of the parliamentary term, which ended today.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Shortly we will publish a green paper that sets out a new deal for social housing tenants.”

John Healey, Labour’s shadow housing secretary, said: “After eight years of failure, this government can’t even get its act together to publish a policy paper, never mind fix the country’s housing problems.”

Publishing the paper during recess would be unusual, but there is no rule preventing the government from doing so.

Vicki Nash, head of policy and campaigns at the charity Mind, added: “It’s hugely concerning that the government has failed to deliver this report on social housing, another instance of people with mental health problems being let down.

“We had hoped to find out exactly how the government intends to tackle the social housing crisis, which affects a huge amount of people with mental health problems.”

Inside Housing revealed last week that the government has been considering ’league tables’ of housing associations as a flagship recommendation for the policy paper. It is not clear whether or not they will make the final draft.

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