In May 2002 we were reporting:
The Housing Corporation published on its web site the results of a number of its pilot and pathfinder inspections. These have contributed to formulating the new inspection regime, which went live in April 2002...
The Government announced a major shake-up, which sees the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) cease to exist - less than twelve months after being established. Responsibility for housing and local government passes to the new Office of the Deputy Prime Minister...
Nine pathfinder areas in northern England and the Midlands, blighted by derelict housing, received a £25m boost to help win the battle against low demand and market failure. They are receiving an immediate cash injection to help them develop robust schemes and take urgent action that will mark the way forward. It is estimated that 880,000 homes are in areas of low demand, of which 520,000 are private and 360,000 social housing, and that the nine pathfinders cover around 720,000 of this number. The investment is being financed from the Capital Modernisation Fund...
Housing Minister, Sally Keeble, confirmed that the extension of categories of people in need of accommodation under new homelessness legislation will take effect in July. The extension includes care-leavers, former servicemen and ex-prisoners...
The Government announced the details of PFI schemes involving the five councils that have been selected to work with the private sector to provide more social housing. This was the outcome from the first bidding round for housing PFI schemes outside of the Housing Revenue Account (these schemes differ, as RSLs will be contracted to acquire or build additional social housing and the properties will not be council owned)...
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 received Royal Assent on 1 May, introducing tougher rights for residential leaseholders in England and Wales. Provisions of the new Act include the introduction of a new form of tenure called Commonhold, which is designed to provide a better system for the future ownership and management of blocks of flats...
Communities Scotland launched the second stage of the Scottish House Condition Survey, involving about 18,000 householders. Homes in all 32 local authority areas in Scotland will be included - both owned and rented, in urban, rural and island locations. The first stage of the survey at the beginning of the year involved interviewing householders to seek their views about their home, whether or not they had done any work on it, and how they felt about the neighbourhood in which they live. This second stage of the 2002 survey looks at the age and type of the house, any repairs which may be required, the home's services, amenities and fittings, and its heating and insulation properties...
Cotswold Council became the first local authority to house a key worker under the Government's Starter Home Initiative. A nurse at Cirencester Hospital received a grant towards the purchase of her new home...
In May 2006 we were reporting:
A House of Commons all-party Select Committee of MPs criticised the Government for failing to accept expert advice when new housing were proposed for areas at risk of flooding. The Select Committee report also claims ministers have failed to provide a robust appraisal of the pollution watchdog, the Environment Agency, and are sceptical over its achievements...
A new report finds that the Supporting People programme, designed to help people with a wide range of needs to lead more independent lives, has had mixed success. The report, Supporting People - Promoting Independence, by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), concludes that councils and their partner agencies have been able to provide a wider range of support services, promote people's independence and focus on preventing people from needing higher levels of care. But, halfway into the five-year £8 billion programme, the impact has been inconsistent across different groups of people and different parts of England...
Millions of pounds have been poured into Britain's city and urban areas in recent years but the resultant growth has forced many to the margins and dramatised the gap between the 'super rich' and poorest. That is the message highlighted by Faithful Cities: A Call for Celebration, Vision and Justice, a new report from an ecumenical and interfaith Commission initiated by the Church of England...
A pilot project designed to save housing association tenants money on their energy bills will see wind turbines installed on high-rise blocks of flats in Glasgow. North Glasgow Housing Association is hoping to install the system on homes, including tower blocks, and its own offices to tackle fuel poverty. Funding of £22,000 is in place for the pilot project and the first turbine could be installed within months...
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced that his London Plan Review will set radical new objectives for planners and developers that will require new developments to connect to "decentralised" local energy supplies and achieve the highest standards of sustainable building design. The Review also doubles the carbon emission reductions that developments must achieve through onsite renewable energy, from 10% to 20%...
Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that she thinks a greater emphasis needs to be placed on increasing housing supply. She said: "There is a need for more affordable homes to be built and that is going to be a personal priority for me."
The Secretary of State acknowledged that the Government's priority on housing in the years after 1997 had been based on refurbishment of existing stock, rather than reversing the trend of declining council home construction. But she insisted that the emphasis of policy had now shifted towards building new homes...
The Government announced the creation of a new Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), to take over from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). DCLG is larger than ODPM was, with a new remit to promote community cohesion and equality, as well as the inherited responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, planning and local government. The Department will unite the communities and civic renewal functions previously undertaken by the Home Office, with responsibility for regeneration, neighbourhood renewal and local government (previously held by the ODPM)...
