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Morning Briefing: ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a problem,’ says Brokenshire on new build quality
The housing secretary gives a lengthy interview to The Sunday Times, and the rest of the morning’s housing news
In the news
James Brokenshire has invited reporters from The Sunday Times to his home in Bexley for an in-depth and personal interview, touching on his father’s death from cancer and his mother’s struggle with dementia as well as his views on a range of housing issues.
Perhaps most interesting was a stark acknowledgement that there is currently a problem with the quality of new build housing. The interview says that for him, “the most shocking” aspect of the housing market is the poor quality of new build “at the cheaper end of the market”.
“Oh my goodness, it’s a problem,” he says.
He suggests that a shadow new homes ombudsman may be set up, while waiting for the legislation to get a fully independent ombudsman off the ground.
On which note, there is a timely report in The Yorkshire Post about leaky homes in a new development in Huddersfield.
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In The Guardian there is a report on welfare reform produced for the children’s commissioner, which warns that the number of children living in poverty will double as a result of the changes.
The Sunday Post attacks Glasgow landlord Maryhill Housing Association for deciding to increase rents after spending “more than £2m” on a restructure and consultants.
In particular, it is critical of the association for spending £40,000 on staff training from consultancy Meta, whose chief executive Jo Clarkson channels an angel named Emmanuel on YouTube.
A director at the association said it “cannot comment on the individual trainer’s personal life or beliefs”.
A spokesperson for Meta said: “The channelling Jo does is not linked to our work – it is something that he does as a private individual.”
Also in Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership is seeking a “constitutional partnership” with another housing association. The 10,300-home association wants to “create or join” a group structure, according to a report in Scottish Housing News, after saying that “the scale of the challenges which we now face exceeds our current capacity”.
And on the Red Brick Blog Steve Hilditch disagrees with Sue Shirt, who wrote an opinion piece for us last week about why Stonewater was “proud” to be piloting the Right to Buy extension.
He writes: “It is not the narrow perspective of whether Stonewater replaces one for one, the essential point is that the money available in the housing system will produce fewer additional homes in total for people in need.”
On social media
G15 chair Paul Hackett calls for more counter-cyclical investment:
Private housebuilding activity fell by 5.1% in March compared with Feb, according to @ONS. But public housing sector grew by 8.6% over same period. Now is point in the cycle to dial-up counter cyclical investment in #AffordableHousing. #ukhousing t.co/zr2v3uXfhf
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10)Private housebuilding activity fell by 5.1% in March compared with Feb, according to @ONS. But public housing sector grew by 8.6% over same period. Now is point in the cycle to dial-up counter cyclical investment in #AffordableHousing. #ukhousing https://t.co/zr2v3uXfhf
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10) May 13, 2019
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