Housing Minister Grant Shapps announces plans to introduce a new National Affordable Home Swap Scheme, which will mean that social housing tenants will be able to see details of other tenants in council and housing association homes looking for a mutual exchange - not just in their own area, but across the country.
The Minister will also work with two London boroughs - Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham - to explore whether they can offer a new Right to Move, so that some tenants could ask their landlord to find them a home in the area they want to live.
The measures are aimed at improving the chances for tenants to move - in 2008, fewer than a quarter of all new lettings went to existing tenants.
Launching the scheme, the Minister said:
"Today I'm launching a 'Freedom Pass' for all 8 million people in affordable housing in England. Social housing should provide more than a roof over people's heads - it should lift them out of poverty, and free them to take chances to improve the quality of their own lives. Instead, many tenants are left trapped in their own homes, while councils and housing associations turn their attention to record waiting lists.
"This cannot continue - as we work to tackle the record budget deficit we must ensure vulnerable people benefit from, but don't become trapped by, the safety net that social housing provides.
"That's why I'm putting tenants in the driving seat, with a new opportunity to see people like them looking to exchange social homes not just in their area but across the country, through a new National Home Swap Scheme."
