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Boris Johnson is planning an assault on regulation if he becomes prime minister and Sajid Javid could be set for the role of chancellor
In the news
On the front page of the Times this morning is Mr Johnson’s plan for an emergency no-deal Brexit budget, which will include an assault on regulation.
This could sound worrying to anyone who has read Inside Housing deputy editor Peter Apps’ piece on how enforced reductions to regulation led to the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Times story is also the second paper after the Financial Times to report that Mr Johnson is planning to appoint former housing secretary Mr Javid as his chancellor.
This could lessen fears in the social housing sector about the former London mayor’s plans, given Mr Javid once argued for a massive £50bn housebuilding programme.
On the subject of Mr Johnson’s campaign for Conservative leadership, readers may be interested to know that the chair of Homes England, Sir Edward Lister, is currently working on a plan for his first 100 days in office.
Sir Edward is part of a campaign team that, according to The Guardian, has been criticised for being male-dominated.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that institutional investor Legal & General (L&G) has signed a £4bn agreement with the University of Oxford to build thousands of homes for staff and students.
L&G will pay for the buildings and receive rent for 60 years before handing the properties to the university.
Elsewhere, the BBC reports on findings from the Public Accounts Committee that military housing is still “not good enough” despite the Ministry of Defence spending £135m on refurbishments.
According to the report, satisfaction “only rose slightly” despite refurbishments being carried out on 3,800 homes.
Also in the BBC is a reminder that the cladding crisis is not just affecting the housing sector.
It has a story on hospitals facing huge bills from having to remove flammable cladding and needing to close whole wards as a result.
On social media
Some in the sector respond to Mr Johnson’s regulation plans:
Agree violently with @martinhilditch here. Safety regulation is not "red tape." t.co/vUdPTRqBkl
— Martin Wheatley (@wheatley_martin)Agree violently with @martinhilditch here. Safety regulation is not "red tape." https://t.co/vUdPTRqBkl
— Martin Wheatley (@wheatley_martin) June 28, 2019