WE SUPPORT CAMPAIGN TO HELP HOMELESS

The need is desperate

for social housing

It is something that most politicians agree on, yet not one of them gets to grips with: Britain needs much more social housing..

Now the influential social  housing magazine Inside  Housing is giving a lead and  in  a new campaign is  calling for the next government to do what is needed and build social housing.

“ We are calling for all political parties to insert a commitment to build substantial numbers of social rent homes into their manifestos at the next general election” says Inside Housing`s current issue

The magazine goes on:

“The reasons for urgent action to deliver better outcomes for people in need of stable housing are painfully obvious. To quote just a few: right now there are more than 100,000 households living in temporary accommodation in England including131,370 children,14,000 households, including 9,130 children in Scotland, 4,465 households or 13,000 people inWales, and almost 4,000 households in Northern Ireland.

 These figures have been rising steadily and represent a blight on the lives of children, individuals and families across the UK. They are unacceptable and need to ch

“We are calling for all the main parties in the UK to commit to a major programme of building homes for social rent in their manifestos for the next general election.

“We are calling for all parties in England to pledge to build 90,000 homes a year over the next decade, or 900,000 in total. And we are calling on parties in Scotland to commit to 7,700 homes for social rent a year and 4,000 homes for social rent a year in Wales, adding up to at least another 11,000 homes a year in total.

“Organisations such as Shelter and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) have made similar calls, and in 2021, research for the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), the National Federation of ALMOs and the Local Government Association called for 100,000 new social homes a year.

“The figure we are using in Scotland is essentially a commitment to deliver on the figures in the existing Programme for Government and in Wales it is in line with the Welsh Government’s existing target to deliver 20,000 social homes for rent during the current Senedd term.”

Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation which publishes this blog has for many years called for much more social housing and campaigned on the  inadequacies and failures of the present social housing structures, particularly the failed  housing associations.

A Federation spokesman said :”Congratulations to Inside Housing. Good luck with your campaign”.

 

 

 

 

 

MINISTER NAMES AND SHAMES LANDLORDS

 

 Gove`s `extreme concern`

for tenants

 Housing secretary Michael Gove keeps up the pressure…He has now written to 14 social landlords over severe maladministration findings and a  breach of regulations.

In the letters to chief executives, Mr Gove criticised their failings and said he will be “taking a personal interest” in how the landlords, including seven councils and seven housing associations, continue to deliver their responsibilities to residents.

Failures like these have been ignored for far too long. Carlisle Tenants` and Residents Federation which publishes this blog has been campaigning against similar failures by Liverpool based Riverside Housing Associaiton  for about a  quarter of a century.

But the grossly inefficient, bossy and undemocratic Riverside carried on regartdless because that massive organisation is a law  only to itself.  Since Mr Gove`s appointment, things have changed  considerably down by the Riverside.

The seven housing associations, all of which were written to for previous findings of severe maladministration, include Sovereign, Hyde, Metropolitan Thames Valley. PA Housing, Peabody for findings against Catalyst and Notting Hill Genesis and Inquilab 

Ealing,Westminster,Tandridge, Nottingham, Milton Keynes and Lambeth councils all received a letter highlighting details of severe maladministration findings by the Housing Ombudsman. While Camden was pulled up for breaching the English regulator’s Home Standard.

As part of sweeping social housing regulation reforms, Mr Gove has vowed to name and shame landlords that fail to meet standards.

He has been writing to landlords and publishing letters since May  last year. 

Failures highlighted in the newly published letters include significant delays in complaint responses, vulnerable residents living in disrepair for months, a new born baby living in damp and mould, and a disabled tenant’s property needing 120 repairs.

Several landlords had previously already received letters, including Lambeth Council, whose most recent severe maladministration finding involved a family living in damp and mould for six years.

 

  It was also Mr Gove’s second letter to Ian McDermott (pictured), chief executive of Peabody, for a double maladministration finding for Catalyst after a disabled resident and her child were left in a mouldy home for 19 months. The housing secretary had previously written to Mr McDermott when he was the boss of Catalyst.  

In the case of PA Housing, Mr Gove wrote that he was “extremely disappointed” to be writing to the landlord again, describing two further findings of severe maladministration as “extremely concerning”. 

“In the second case, you took a staggering 585 working days to respond to a stage two complaint a resident made concerning a faulty roof,” he wrote. 

“You failed to acknowledge or offer an apology for your failures and, again, did not consider the impact your failures had on the resident. This is simply not acceptable.”

 Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents`Federation. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277