Healey: Councils given more control over housing waiting lists

Housing Minister John Healey has today given councils more flexibility in how they manage their waiting lists.

He also called on councils to do more to tackle the myths and misunderstandings about housing waiting lists, so local people can have confidence that the system is fair.

Published today, new statutory guidance makes clear that those in greatest housing need must be given priority. But it also gives councils more freedom to allocate their homes according to needs specific to their local area.

Councils have said they will use this extra flexibility to prioritise families with local connections, those seeking local employment and to tackle overcrowding and under-occupation in their communities.

This includes:

• Manchester City Council, which is planning to prioritise those who are working, volunteering or taking up training and educational opportunities.
• The London Borough of Newham, which plans to use revised allocation policies to tackle overcrowding.
  Bournemouth Borough Council, which plans to use the flexibilities to reduce the number of under-occupied homes.
• Test Valley Borough Council, who are looking at the possibility of setting a quota for a proportion of their housing stock to be available to those with a connection to the local area.

The guidance also gives councils the responsibility to tackle the myths and misunderstanding surrounding allocations.

Councils will be expected to consult their local communities on changes to their allocation policies, and inform local people about who is getting housing, ensuring allocation policies are better understood and have greater local legitimacy.

John Healey said: "People must be given confidence that council homes in their area are allocated fairly. Councils must make sure people can see more clearly how homes are being allocated in their area.

"I'm giving councils greater leeway to do this. While priority will still be given to those in greatest housing need, they will now also be able to allocate according to needs specific to their local area.

"And with these greater freedoms, I expect councils to take greater responsibility in consulting with their communities, and explaining their allocation policies, to combat the myths and misunderstandings that often develop around council housing."

Today's announcement is part of the Government’s Housing Pledge to improve access to housing.

Earlier this week, Mr Healey launched the first-ever national crackdown on tenancy cheats, to recover up to 10,000 council and housing association homes from fraudulent subletting over this and next year, and release them to those in real need.

Since June, he has given the green light to £141million funding which, when match-funded by councils, is expected to build over 2,000 council homes and safeguard around 5,000 jobs, as part of the largest council house-building programme for nearly two decades – with a further £180m to follow.

And he has launched plans to dismantle the current council housing finance system and replace it with a clearer, more transparent system. Under the revised system, councils will finance their business through their own rents and revenue, in exchange for a one-off allocation of housing debt.

Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "This is political posturing by Labour in a desperate bid to shore up their disillusioned core vote.

"In reality, under Labour's Human Rights Act and Harriet Harman's new Equality Bill, councils will have their hands tied and be unable to give greater priority to local people."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Sarah Teather said: “This rehashed announcement will do nothing to help the millions of people set to spend this Christmas stuck in temporary accommodation or on the streets.
 
“While Labour and the Tories have spent years squabbling over who should be at the top of the housing queue, that queue has grown longer and longer.
 
“Instead of fiddling around the edges, the Government need to focus on bringing empty properties back into use and building the many new homes that local families need.”