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Short on time? Tuesday’s housing news in five minutes

A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere

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Top story: ALMO chief reveals challenges dealing with devastating floods

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Dramatic floods have devastated South Yorkshire and Derbyshire in recent weeks, leading many residents to evacuate.

St Leger Homes, Doncaster Council’s ALMO, has properties right in the centre of the worst hit areas.

Paul Tanney, chief executive of St Leger Homes, speaks to Inside Housing about the challenges his organisation has faced during the recovery effort.

A total of 81 of its homes were affected as part of the 1,200 properties affected across the towns of Fishlake, Bentley, and Scawthorpe in Doncaster.

Council housing fraud falls by 23%

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The number of housing fraud cases committed in England last year has dropped by nearly a quarter.

In the latest figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s annual Fraud and Corruption Tracker show that an estimated 3,632 instances of council housing fraud took place in 2018/19, down from 4,733 the year before.

This included 10,213 examples of Right to Buy fraud, a fall of 21% and the lowest level since discounts were raised dramatically 2012/13.

The figures come after an investigation by Inside Housing found that one in seven homes sold through right to buy since 2012 had been bought by a tenant on housing benefit.

Lunchtime long read

Lunchtime long read

Warning signs: a timeline of major residential fires post-Grenfell

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After the Bolton fire last Friday night, the spotlight once again shines on combustible materials.

The Bolton fire was one in a long line of fires involving these materials since the Grenfell Tower Fire tragedy. Inside Housing has drawn up a timeline of all of those fires, explaining what happened and the reasons for the fire spread.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

“Many of our customers will feel that they have little choice but to drive older cars, for example. Purchasing decisions around food, energy and clothing may also take them to less sustainable products. If we ever needed to stand together with tenants, it is now.”

Tony Stacey, chief executive of South Yorkshire Housing Association, explains why it so important to work with tenants to tackle the climate emergency.

Read the full comment piece here

In the papers

In the papers

Picture: Getty

The Guardian reports on new data which shows that social security payments have hit their lowest level since the welfare state was created. The piece, which outlines new data from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank, has found that the universal standard weekly allowance is now equivalent to 12.5% of median earnings, contrasting to the 20% it represented in 1948.

The IPPR claims this is excluding millions from mainstream society and fuelling foodbank use.

The TUC has brought out new data around the number of children growing up in working households. According to the latest data, the number has risen by 800,000 since 2010 – London, the East of England and the West Midlands have suffered the biggest increases.

Local news

Local news

Picture: Getty

Emergency housing for homeless people is to be made more welcoming with a budget boost, Brighton & Hove news reports.

The BBC reports on calls for homelessness charities in Glasgow to open its shelters early after an unexpected cold snap this year.

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