Cameron's Class War - to turn the poor out of their homes

Tue Aug 3 22:43:41 BST 2010

Cameron threatens lifetime tenancies
3 August 2010 - Inside Housing -  By Tom Lloyd

David Cameron has suggested the Conservative-led 
government could do away with lifetime tenancies, 
contradicting promises made before the election.

In a question and answer session with members of 
the public in Birmingham, the prime minister said 
it makes sense to look at a more flexible system of tenure.

In the run up to the general election Mr Cameron 
came under attack from then housing minister John 
Healey, who accused the Conservatives of wanting to end secure tenancies.

At the time, Mr Cameron said the allegations were 
simply untrue and a spokesperson for the 
Conservatives said the party had no policy to 
change the current or future security of tenure of tenants in social housing.

But today he said: There is a question mark 
about whether, in future, we should be asking 
when you are given a council home is it for a 
fixed period? Because maybe in five or 10 years 
you will be doing a different job and be better 
paid and you wont need that home, you will be 
able to go into the private sector.

He said the question will lead to quite a bit 
argument and that he was not talking about 
existing tenants but that for future tenants it 
could be asked whether there would be more social 
mobility if people moved through social housing, 
rather than regarding it as something they get for life.

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-management/cameron-threatens-lifetime-tenancies/6511004.article

David Cameron announces plan to end lifetime council tenancies
Council homes for life to be replaced by 
tenancies lasting as little as five years based on need and income

Patrick Wintour, political editor
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 August 2010 21.43 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/03/lifetime-council-tenancies-contracts-cameron

'Not everyone will support this and there will be 
quite a big argument,' Cameron admitted. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

An end to lifetime council tenancies was 
signalled today by David Cameron as he warned the 
coming public spending cuts will not be restored when the economy recovers.

Cameron said he wanted to see fixed terms for all 
new council and housing association tenancies 
lasting as little as five years to help increase social mobility.

The prime minister admitted that "not everyone 
will support this and there will be quite a big 
argument". Speaking in Birmingham, he said: 
"There is a question mark about whether, in 
future, we should be asking when you are given a 
council home, is it for a fixed period? Because 
maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a 
different job and be better paid and you won't 
need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector."

A consultation paper, due to be published as 
early astomorrow, will say the new short-term 
tenure would be for local councils to implement, 
but would involve regular reviews of tenancies to 
see if the council tenant still needed such a 
large property or had sufficient income to shift to the private sector.

At present council tenants have secure tenancy 
for life. Housing association tenants have secure 
tenancy for life after a probationary year. 
Council tenants have the right to hand the 
property over to their children, whereas housing association tenants do not.

The communities department estimates that it 
costs each taxpayer £35 a week to keep people in 
affordable homes, and it is argued the tenancy 
for life is an inefficient use of scarce resources.

Under the government's proposals council tenants 
could be forced to downsize. A total of 234,000 
households in the social tenant sector are 
overcrowded while 456,000 are under-occupied, 
meaning people have more than one extra spare 
room, according to official figures.

The government has already announced separate plans to cut housing benefit.

Defending the reforms that have proved too 
politically explosive for Labour housing 
ministers to implement, the coalition's housing 
minister, Grant Shapps, said last night: "It is 
quite clear that the real losers from the current 
system are the 1.8m people on council house 
waiting lists who the current arrangements do not help.

"It is time to consider whether our affordable 
housing system can be better used and whether one 
of the benefits would be greater social mobility. 
Any benefits from these changes might take many 
years, but it does not mean we should shy away 
from doing something. This will have no impact on 
existing council or housing association tenants."

Shapps has been holding private talks with key 
housing groups to persuade them to back the reforms.

Critics of the proposed reforms say it could 
disincentivise the unemployed to seek well-paid 
work as they might lose their tenancy as result. 
There are also fears that it would increase the 
chances of council estates becoming ghettos of the workless poor.

The homeless charity Shelter said tonight: "We do 
not believe the big question in housing policy is 
security of tenure for new tenants. The prime 
minister has sidestepped the fundamental cause of 
our housing crisis  the desperate lack of affordable housing supply."

Helen Williams, assistant director at the 
National Housing Federation, said: "There is a 
case for looking at what is offered to new 
tenants, as a way to seeing if over time social 
housing could help more people."

Cameron today urged the public to recognise that 
the deficit was a moral issue and suggested 
public spending would not be restored to its 
current levels when the economy improves.

"Should we cut things now and then go back later 
and try and restore them?" Cameron asked. "I 
think we should try to avoid that approach 

people should open their minds and find new ways 
of doing more for less. We're going to have to 
change the way we work. How can we do things 
differently and better to give the value for money?"

With the Spending review due to be published in 
October, he urged people to recognise there would 
be light at the end of the tunnel, and that "it 
is not all doom and gloom". Cuts of 25%  the 
equivalent of a 5% cut every year  was what many 
businesses and families were facing with their own budgets.

He said his aim was to tackle the big ticket 
items like pensions public sector pay, and 
welfare before tackling smaller budgets.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/03/lifetime-council-tenancies-contracts-cameron

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