ILP Seminar at Leeds on
5 March, 2016 on “Housing In Crisis”. A Report.
These are notes I took
from the day's talks and discussions, plus my own thoughts.
A. Dr Quinton Bradley –
The Housing Crisis Weaponised.
The 'Housing and Planning
Bill, 2015-16' is currently in its late stages in the Lords. See -
There will be no more
affordable houses, instead houses for home ownership or privately
rented.
With “affordable”
legally set at £450,000 in London and £250,000 elsewhere.
There will only be
“starter” houses by Local Authorities and public grants via
Housing Associations.
“Shared ownership” is
stressed, which is a most unpopular form. But it is a main prospect
by 2020. This gives a 25% share of the ownership, with a subsidised
rent on the remainder. It puts the holder of the “remainder” in
control to what is to be done within the property. This approach has
led to crisis. From 2008, it moved many people into pure renting. It
is also a transfer to people on higher incomes who are not in
financial need.
40% of “rights to buy”
end up in the private rented sector.
Only 7% of Council Tenants
are either on or above £40,000 in London or on £30,000 elsewhere. There is an end of
security for Council Tenants. New tenancies are limited to 5 years,
but can be renewed, except where a partner has died and a smaller
house is seen as being “needed”.
There is a right to buy
for Housing Association Tenants, so the Association then needs to
purchase and find a replacement.
Two and a half million
Council Houses have been sold off.
In the Autumn Statement,
housing benefit can only go to 30% of those who are on private sector
rents.
There will be no more
supported housing.
There will be reduced
incomes to Housing Associations, so they will make cuts in their
operations.
There will be a transfer
of house building from areas of need to higher value areas.
There have been reductions
in Housing Grants from the early 1990s.
In 2008 Labour's Caroline
Flint ended secure tenancy for Council Tenants.
He mentioned what he
called the 1972 Heath “Fair Rents Act” (This was the
“Housing Finance Act”
which Clay Cross rebelled against.).
In 1970 nationally there were 30% in
Council Houses, this collapsed from 1983.
Yet there is a decent
European-wide model. In 2011 they had the following Council Housing –
Holland 35%, Austria (next or the same HB) ), Denmark 19%, Sweden
18%, UK 17%, USA 3%.
The EU anti-competition
rule of 2010 hits Council Housing.
There is a rise in house
prices due to the collapse of Council Housing.
There is also a decline in
home ownership. In 2003 it was 71% and is 65.1% today. Many of the
full owners are pensioners. The private sector rents have risen.
There is a 40% increase in profits by Barratts, although they build
less – concentrating on where they can make money.
B. Fabian Hamilton MP
for Leeds North East – Building Homes For Britain.
He spoke to his
publication entitled “Building Homes For Britain” (published
November 2015). A summary can be found here -
The full report can be
found via a link contained at the end of the above summary. I did not take notes from
this session as I obtained a copy of the report, for which I have
provided the above link. It is a very important document.
In answering points raised
from the floor of the meeting Fabian Hamilton was supported by Simon
Jose who had researched and edited the report.
I also decided I would
subsequently re-examine the following link which contains points I
had previously drawn from Labour's appropriate Policy Forum Report.
Especially see points 4 to 8 on housing-
Debates on the current
“Housing and Planning” Bill, with John Healy MP as Labour's
spokesperson are also of relevance. Here is a repeat link which leads
to these -.
C. Ellen Robottom of
the Campaign for Decent, Secure and Affordable Housing.
This is her organisation's
web-site which is entitled “Hands Off Our Homes - Leeds”
Much as the organisation's
considerable efforts have centred around giving advice and regular
assistance over the impact of the Bedroom Tax which has effected
13,000 households in Leeds. Those effected are in more isolated areas
than almost anywhere in the country, which has produced a range of
mental and other diseases. Help has mainly been provided as a result
of regular door-knocking activities. Many homes having been visited
at least three times.
Case work covers many
essential activities which should have been undertaken by the
Council, but was not being covered by them.
Concern was expressed that
at the key time when the Housing and Planning Bill was in front of
the Commons, the media gave the issue little or no coverage. This was
not helped by the fact that Labour was undertaking its headline
grabbing Shadow Cabinet re-shuffle at this crucial time.
There is a considerable
need to place developments around the Bill at the top of Labour's
Agenda. There is a clear need for those of us who are active in the
Labour Party to ensure that this matter is pushed to the top of
Labour's agenda.
In my own case, my
Constituency includes Clay Cross which was at the centre of the
struggle against the Housing Finance Act back in 1972, see - http://threescoreyearsandten.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-clay-cross-rent-rebellion.html
.
In fact the first item I ever wrote for the ILP was for “Labour
Leader” on the issue of the Clay Cross struggle, which was still a
major item then in October 1975. Even in 1977 and 1978 our Constituency
Labour Party was still able to force the Clay Cross issue as a key
item onto the Labour Party Conference Agenda.
It should also be noted that the one big success of the first minority Labour Government in 1924 was the housing legislation introduced by John Wheatly of the ILP. It gave a considerable boost to the building of Council Housing which was picked up by Labour controlled Councils which were growing significantly in that period. We could do with that history repeating itself. See - http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/towns/collections/labhousing1/housea2/ (unfortunately this link needs to be pasted as it will not work for me as a direct link).
We and others now need to
get the current situation to the top of Labour's agenda. The content
of this ILP Day-School needs to stimulate us all into action. Let us
get into a position where we can follow its lessons on such an
important matter.
Corrections from those who attended the Seminar are welcome. As are comments on where we go from here.
