Housing reform report gets council backing

The report, called Securing the Future of Council Housing, details the current issues in the system and calls on the government to make changes to safeguard council housing.

It has been commissioned by Southwark Council and endorsed by more than 100 local authorities, including Crawley Borough Council.

The councils ask that the government makes immediate commitments to restore confidence in the sector after years of uncertainty and for an injection of emergency capital funding.

The supporters of the report also believe that, at the next Spending Review, the government should:

• establish a new fair and sustainable HRA mode
• reform unsustainable Right to Buy policies
• remove red tape on the Affordable Homes Programme and other funds
• announce a Green and Decent Homes Programme
• fund the completion of new council homes

The report offers five solutions and more than 20 recommendations, from over 100 council landlords. Further information about the report, including a link to the full version, is available online: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/housing/securing-the-future-of-england-s-council-housing

Crawley Borough Council has built 952 council homes since 2012. In the same period, 655 council homes have been sold under Right to Buy.

The council unanimously declared a housing emergency in February and one of the factors was the shortage of council and other housing to meet demand.

Councillor Ian Irvine, Cabinet member for Housing at Crawley Borough Council, said: “We are very proud of our record on council housing in Crawley. However, national policy changes over recent years have had a significant, negative effect on budgets and the ability to build new council homes for local people.

“Council homes are a critical part of the solution to the housing emergency. These proposed changes to the system would enable us to bring all our homes up to the standards our residents deserve and unlock the potential to deliver new council housing.”

Councillor Michael Jones, leader of Crawley Borough Council, added: “It is important for us to show our support for this major report together with more than 100 other local authorities. We need the government to listen and act on this to help safeguard the future of council housing.”

The report was launched at a major event in London attended by Councillor Ian Irvine on behalf of Crawley Borough Council, and has been submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.