• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Tuesday September 3 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

One hundred local authorities call on government to save council houses

A rainbow coalition of one hundred local authorities has called on the government to help save council housing provision across England.

The councils – run by parties on the left, centre, and right of the political spectrum – say that the council housing system. They want the government to inject a one-off payment of £644 million to support it.

Securing the Future of Council Housing was commissioned by Southwark Council, which represents an inner London borough, and is supported by 19 other local authorities, including Bristol City Council, which is led by the Green Party.

Signatories include Reading Borough Council (Labour), Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames (Lib Dem), Somerset Council (Lib Dem), Swindon Borough Council (Labour), and Wiltshire Council (Conservative).

Before the general election Angela Rayner, now the deputy prime minister, promised a “council housing revolution” as part of the proposed National Planning Policy Framework.

Now, the 100 local authorities have warned financial model for council housing finances is “broken”, with a £2.2 billion ‘black hole’ in councils’ dedicated budgets expected by 2028.

The report, published today (Tuesday) warns that most council landlords will “struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet the huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes for social rent” in the very near future.

The report also calls for reforms to the “unsustainable” Right to Buy policy, an end to funding red tape, the creation of a long-term Green & Decent Homes Programme, and urgent action to restart stalled building projects which, say the councils, will support construction sector jobs and the housing market.

Councillor Janine Howarth, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We were only too happy to support this national campaign because we need the Government’s support if we are to reform council housing and provide the funding councils need.

“Here in Swindon we have 4,230 people on our housing waiting list, a backlog of repairs and we are facing a big challenge in ensuring our homes are energy efficient and meet modern standards.

“Something needs to change and the five solutions set out in the future of council housing report will go some way to putting us on the right path to deliver affordable and green homes for people in Swindon in line with our own and the new government’s ambitions.”

Councillor Kieron Williams, leader of Southwark Council, said: “This unprecedented coalition of councils – representing every corner of England – is united in our determination to ensure our residents have decent and affordable homes. For families across our country their council home is a foundation – giving them the security needed to put down roots and flourish.

“Our new government has committed to delivering the biggest increase to affordable and social housing in a generation. The Deputy Prime Minister’s recent announcements demonstrate that they know the critical role councils will play in reaching this ambition. However, the reality is that our national council housing finances are on the brink.

“Our five solutions offer the new government an opportunity to turn this around – lifting the council homes we have up to modern, safe, healthy and green standards, and delivering the thousands more council homes that our country urgently needs. By investing in them together, we can transform lives for the better for generations to come.”

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