03.10.18
Councils given greater housing powers as May abolishes strict cap
Councils will soon receive long-awaited greater powers in building new homes following Theresa May’s announcement of the removal of a strict housing cap.
In the prime minister’s Conservative party conference speech today, May said solving the housing crisis is “the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation,” adding that you cannot believe in the benefits of capitalism if you don’t own capital.
“There is a government cap on how much they can borrow against their housing revenue account assets to fund new developments,” said May.
“Solving the housing crisis is the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation. It doesn’t make sense to stop councils from playing their part in solving it.”
The announcement from May comes after the government’s new plans outlined last month £2bn in funding for affordable housing.
The LGA’s housing spokesperson Cllr Judith Blake, responding to the announcement, said the green paper is “a step towards delivering more social homes,” but it is only a small step compared to the pressing need for more genuinely affordable homes.
She added: “The government must go beyond the limited measures announced so far, scrap the housing borrowing cap, and enable all councils, across the country, to borrow to build once more. This would trigger the renaissance in council house-building which will help people to access genuinely affordable housing.
“It is good that the government has listened to our concerns and dropped plans to force the sale of council homes. We have worked hard to demonstrate the need to scrap this policy which would have forced councils to sell off large numbers of the homes desperately needed by low-income families in our communities.”
Cllr Paul Carter, chairman of the County Councils Network, said: “The CCN’s unitary members will welcome the lifting of the housing borrowing cap to build more homes. For those district local authorities who may now seek to use these extra borrowing capabilities, the role of county councils in providing vital infrastructure to support housing is now even more important.
“As the housing minister suggested yesterday, this must come alongside greater strategic planning across larger, county-wide geographies, and we will work with government and district partners to deliver this.”