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Morning Briefing: Right to Buy extension ‘in trouble’
Sky News follows Inside Housing’s lead in reporting the lack of progress on the Right to Buy extension, and a thinktank warns about Universal Credit funding levels
In the news
Sky News reports that the government’s Right to Buy extension to housing association tenants “has barely got off the ground” as ministers are unsure how to pay for the policy.
Sky’s political correspondent Lewis Goodall says ministers had even considered dropping the policy – which appeared in the 2015 manifesto but was absent from the manifesto for this year’s general election.
Mr Goodall notes that “only 55 sales have been completed in a tiny number of pilot areas” but said he has been assured by a government source that the policy is likely to go ahead in some form.
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The piece follows Inside Housing’s article on Friday looking at what has happened to the Right to Buy extension and the high-value asset levy on councils that was supposed to raise cash to pay for it.
Perhaps apt for Halloween, we are referring to the two policies as the ‘zombie housing policies’ – as they are not quite dead, but neither are they fully alive.
Elsewhere, The Guardian is reporting that residents of blocks next to Grenfell Tower could be forced to return to their homes. The newspaper reports that community leaders feel that Kensington and Chelsea would be breaking promises if they move the tenants, some of whom have traumatic memories, back to their homes.
Also on Grenfell, The Daily Mirror is reporting comments made by Prince William at its annual Pride of Britain awards. The prince is reported as paying tribute to firefighters and survivors of the blaze, which claimed at least 80 lives in June.
Universal Credit continues to crop up in the press, and today The Guardian is reporting comments from thinktank the Resolution Foundation warning that the flagship welfare reform needs a cash injection of £3bn to reverse cuts else public confidence in the project will collapse.
The Northern Echo newspaper has an eye-catching story about the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority encouraging house builders to build housing on its land.
And finally this morning, there is a report from the Evening Times newspaper about Glasgow City Council being expected to sign off a £1bn plan to build 1,000 affordable homes later this week.
On social media
The Sky News report on the Right to Buy extension has generated quite a bit of reaction among housing people on Twitter:
’Flagship’ gvt hsg scheme?? Really? 🙈 another example of #ukhousing policy used in party political games.... t.co/mIBH9PJm5c
— Amy Nettleton (@amynettleton1)'Flagship' gvt hsg scheme?? Really? \uD83D\uDE48 another example of #ukhousing policy used in party political games.... https://t.co/mIBH9PJm5c
— Amy Nettleton (@amynettleton1) October 30, 2017
A stupid policy, now doomed to fail. Why did the NHF support this?
— mel west (@melwest14)
HA Right to Buy now in trouble - Sky News t.co/598ecrlxBuA stupid policy, now doomed to fail. Why did the NHF support this?
— mel west (@melwest14) October 31, 2017
HA Right to Buy now in trouble - Sky News https://t.co/598ecrlxBu
The 99.995% Tory failure rate on HA tenants ’right to buy’ is good by their standards t.co/FrmvscriqF #ukhousing #housing
— Joe Halewood HSM (@SpeyeJoe)The 99.995% Tory failure rate on HA tenants 'right to buy' is good by their standards https://t.co/FrmvscriqF #ukhousing #housing
— Joe Halewood HSM (@SpeyeJoe) October 30, 2017
What’s on
- The government is expected to announce some detail about its future supported housing funding model, following Theresa May’s announcement last week that the ’LHA cap’ would not apply to social housing.
- The National Housing Federation is hosting a dinner with Julian Ashby this evening for chairs of West Midlands housing associations.
