Shapps eyes further social housing rebrand

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

The housing minister Grant Shapps shows no sign of slowing down the pace of housing announcements and wants to continue his work rebranding social housing to reflect more adequately its taxpayer-funded status, according to an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

He was speaking to the paper ahead of the introduction of Community Harm Statements next April - a new legal tool to help social landlords assess the impact of anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the wider community.

The Community Harm Statement, launched by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), has been developed and piloted by 11 landlords over the last year. It has already been used in 21 cases through the courts and has helped assess the impact of ASB on community and local resources.

Mr Shapps said: “My view for a long time has been that the voice of the victim seems to be the last thing that the court takes into account, rather than the first thing.”

As ever, the 43-year old Conservative MP has been linked to a promotion in the forthcoming Government reshuffle, however, it is his comments on rebranding social housing – to reflect its taxpayer funded status – that will further sour his relationship with leading social housing bodies who fear the sector is already being further stigmatised by Government reform.

In particular, the erosion of social rented homes – those traditionally let at a third of the market rent – with the new Affordable Rent tenure – up to 80% of the market rent – and the decision to offer the latter on new fixed terms, ending lifetime tenancies for new social tenants, has courted the most controversy. The moves have been designed to better utilise the tenure after the Government slashed the amount of money it gives housing associations to build new homes.

Detailed in the Guardian this morning, are details of a Freedom of Information request sent to  councils by Labour revealing that Tory local authorities were building fewer than half as many social homes as Liberal Democrat councils and fewer than a fifth of those in Labour authorities.

But Mr Shapps shows no sign of rowing back on reforms which has seen the Government redefine affordable housing within planning policy and support calls to allow councils to waive social housing requirements from developers in new private rental schemes.

In fact, he told the Telegraph, he is keen to further rebrand social housing to reflect more adequately its taxpayer-funded status.

He said: “I think it is worth reminding people two things. First of all, the taxpayer pays a fair whack subsidy to build the house in the first place, and then, secondly, there is an ongoing week by week subsidy against what would be the full market rent.

“There are forever arguments, the housing intelligentsia of The Guardian or whatever, who say there’s no cost, it’s already built. Not true.”

He added that it should be called “taxpayer-supported housing rather than the meaningless phrase social housing”.

He added: “Everybody lives in social housing as far as I’m concerned. So I think calling a spade a spade and calling it taxpayer-funded housing is not unfair.”

Housing policy is expected to feature prominently in the Government's autumn economic recovery plans.

It has already announced measures to deliver 170,000 new affordable homes by 2015 - the bulk of which will be those let at higher rents. In addition to that, it has introduced financial incentives to reward councils who grant planning for new homes and has attempted to speed up planning decisions through the National Planning Policy Framework. It is also helping to stimulate the housing market by standing behind home buyers in the shape of a mortgage indemnity scheme.