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Short on time? Friday’s housing news in five minutes
A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere
Top story: Number of legal aid cases given funding falls by almost 40% in a decade
The number of housing cases funded through the government’s legal aid programme has fallen by nearly 40% since 2010, Inside Housing has discovered.
Freedom of Information Act requests to the Ministry of Justice found that 7,385 applications for civil representation in housing-related cases were successful in 2018/19, which was down from 12,088 in 2010/11.
For disrepair cases, the figures dropped 94% over this period.
New legislation introduced in 2013 dramatically cut funding for housing-related cases covered by legal aid.
Click here to read the full story
Click here to read an in-depth analysis of the figures
Jenrick unveils plans for ‘First Homes’ with £100,000 discounts
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has unveiled plans for ‘First Homes’ for first-time buyers with discounts of a third.
The government has published a consultation on how the policy, announced by the Conservatives ahead of the general election, will be delivered.
It is proposing funding the new homes through Section 106 planning contributions from developers, which are usually used to build affordable housing.
Ministers have not said how many First Homes they expect to build, but a government press release said there could be “tens of thousands”.
Lunchtime long read
Picture: Anthony Luvera
A new art exhibition seeks to expose the crippling bureaucracy that faces many homeless people. Inside Housing spoke to the artist, Anthony Luvera, about what needs to change.
Quote of the day
So important. We (some of us) talk a lot about people being able to live in a safe, decent, affordable home, but sometimes landlords, and councils, put up various barriers. Overcoming these used to occur in the courts, but now only for those who can afford legal representation. t.co/Qv1TwmREV0
— Rob Gershon (@Simplicitly)So important. We (some of us) talk a lot about people being able to live in a safe, decent, affordable home, but sometimes landlords, and councils, put up various barriers. Overcoming these used to occur in the courts, but now only for those who can afford legal representation. https://t.co/Qv1TwmREV0
— Rob Gershon (@Simplicitly) February 7, 2020
Social housing campaigner Rob Gershon reacts to Inside Housing’s research on housing-related legal aid, published this morning.
In the papers
Picture: Getty
The Guardian reports on research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this morning showing the number of people with a job who live in poverty is now at a record high.
The same report concluded that the greater availability of social housing in Scotland has kept the poverty rate down, per the BBC.
Meanwhile, the BBC has been told that households struggling to pay their energy bills may get help through a government review of clean technology funding.
And Labour leadership hopeful Keir Starmer has called for an overhaul of Universal Credit to allow split payments by default, in order to help protect domestic abuse survivors, according to The Independent.
Local news
Picture: Getty
Brent Council has promised to improve maintenance services at its homes, following complaints from a residents’ association, according to the Harrow Times.
And the Hackney Gazette reports on campaigners’ calls for more social housing at the proposed redevelopment of a council-owned Tesco site.
Around the sector
Scottish housing association Cairn has donated £1,000 to an Inverness-based music charity through its community fund. The charity, Rokzkool Academy, gives local children a safe environment in which to learn music skills and make friends.
The money has enabled Rokzkool to buy more musical instruments for the children’s performance at this year’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival.
Cairn’s community fund has donated £60,000 since it was set up in 2013.
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