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Morning Briefing: Greater Manchester ‘to provide beds for all rough sleepers’
Greater Manchester seeks to provide beds to all rough sleepers under a new scheme, and the rest of the morning’s housing news
In the news
A scheme to give every rough sleeper in Greater Manchester a bed has been launched across the region by mayor Andy Burnham.
The aim is to ensure shelter is available for all 500 people who sleep rough across the 10 boroughs. The scheme runs until March and will be funded by donations from benefactors and the public, the BBC reports.
In less positive news for vulnerable people in need of housing in Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham is threatening to withdraw from the programme of housing asylum seekers unless the government tips the balance by placing more people in Southern areas. The Manchester Evening News reports that the region currently takes one in every six asylum seekers arriving in the UK, with areas in the South taking none.
In other news circulating this morning, catch up on the latest about the Northern Ireland Housing Executive which is facing a “perfect storm” and may have to decommission half its homes – its chair tells Inside Housing’s Nathaniel Barker.
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If you want to catch up on various reports about housing policy published this month, check out the Thinkhouse review, which sums up the best ones and is published on our website this morning.
House prices are also in the news, with the BBC reporting on projections from Savills that the gap between prices in the North and the South will shrink over the coming years. House prices will rise 21% in the North West to 2024, but only 4.5% in London – the agency says. The FT covers the latest figures from Nationwide which show house price growth of 1.6% year-on-year, the lowest since May 2013.
In a quick round-up of local news, the Southend Echo reports on the council’s plans to build 11,000 homes by 2026 with help from local housing associations, Worcester News tells us that Bromsgrove District Council is due to set up a housing company and The Argus reports on an intriguing row about the government refusing Brighton and Hove Council’s application to run a landlord licensing scheme, with some very nasty off-the-record quotes coming from a “source close to the housing minister”.
On social media
Housing is just one facet of tackling rough sleeping, argues Homes England’s place strategy manager:
More affordable housing is needed to solve the homeless crisis, but to tackle rough sleeping there also needs to be a focus on mental health and other support services. #ukhousing t.co/lfNKIkg2Ot
— Matt Lewer (@HousingMatt)More affordable housing is needed to solve the homeless crisis, but to tackle rough sleeping there also needs to be a focus on mental health and other support services. #ukhousing https://t.co/lfNKIkg2Ot
— Matt Lewer (@HousingMatt) November 2, 2018
