Government council housing policy under 'alliance' attack » Housing » 24dash.com

The Labour party will be subjected to an 'alliance' of pressure groups next week - with council housing investment high on the agenda.

Constituency Labour Parties, councillors, trade unions, some MPs and tenants associations have forged an 'alliance' to attack Government policy.

They are submitting a motion to Labour Party Conference for local authorities to be able to invest money directly in council housing.

The alliance that won a vote in favour of the so-called 'fourth option' at the Labour Party Conference last year will be pressing for the policy to be adopted. The group says that there are more motions on housing than any other issue at this years' Labour Party Conference and majority are in favour of direct funding of housing by local authorities or the 'fourth option'.

They say that recent evidence shows that local authorities are unable to reach the government's 'Decent Homes' standard because they are not able to raise the money directly and that tenants who want to remain under local authority control are being denied the investment and improvements they deserve.

Instead local authorities have to opt for stock transfer or ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations) which critics say amounts to the privatisation of council homes and means that council tenants lose their assured tenancies. It also means that the democratic accountability structures that exist between council tenants and elected local authorities are lost.

The group say that the lack of investment in council property maintenance, and renewal is causing an affordable housing crisis in many parts of the country and has warned that the lack of new affordable homes is becoming an electoral issue that extremist parties are seizing on in local campaigns.

Alan Walter, Head of the Defend Council Housing, campaign group, said: "Tenants like having accountable local authority landlords and local authorities have, in the main part, a good record on council house maintenance and improvements.

"We believe that decent, affordable, secure and accountable council housing can make a vital contribution to tackling growing affordable housing need and there is evidence of growing support among council tenants, elected councillors, trade unions and MPs for direct investment to be available to enable local authorities to be able to build new homes.

"We are calling on conference to enact the policy decision made in the 2004 and 2005 party conferences for local authorities to be given the same opportunities as private companies and housing associations."

Austin Mitchell MP who chairs the House of Commons Council Housing group of MPs in an open letter to conference delegates says: "The Labour Party conference provides an opportunity for Ministers to show sense, listen to the people and announce a change of policy by adopting the 'Fourth Option' for council housing."

Writing in the new DCH pamphlet Derek Simpson, Amicus' General Secretary, says: "Amicus supports a Fourth Option for council house funding - for councils to be allowed to raise money in the same way as private companies and housing associations.

"This funding option was voted on and won overwhelming support at last year's Labour Conference and we expect our Labour government to implement the party's policy."

Critics have also raised concerns about the lack of fair play in tenant ballots for 'opt out' and questions about some ALMO and RSL's records in taking over council house stock.

Many have never attained the improvement and maintenance standards they have promised and have presided over very significant rent rises.

Defend Council Housing has produced a new pamphlet making the case for a change in government policy to fund direct investment to improve existing and build new council homes: 'The Case for council housing in 21st Century Britain."

The publication is sponsored by the trade union Amicus.