Loving the work ethic of the new government

Maybe I believe the govt has just announced (another) review of social care. Is it too much to hope that it’ll be in the King’s speech this week?
We don’t want another lengthy review that will be pronounced too expensive to implement like Tony Blair and the Dilnot report. I agree that this is very worrying.

In LP policy documents its included with NHS:

but I really agree with you, and think it needs specific attention.

Yes, the new lot do seem to be getting off the starting blocks, at least, in several depts.

Except........Social Care. That ALWAYS seems the great big nettle that no-one wants to grasp. I'm sick of the care sector problem being forever put on hold. And I'm afraid this will keep happening.

Dinahmo

Where affordable houses are included in a development they are often excluded from some of the facilities from those available to the owners of the more expensive homes, such as play areas for children.

That’s because the housing association which owns the affordable housing doesn’t want to contribute to the service charge which maintains the facilities.

They need to start work on winning the next Election and that means making sure no-one forgets what a mess the Tories left the country in. Improving things will take a long time and Labour needs at least 10 years in government to do even half of what is needed.

Another thing my council has been doing is buying back former council houses when the owners put them on the open market, which logistically makes sense when they already own and maintain houses on the same estate.

Good plan MOnica

In central London there are 1,000s of luxury flats bought up by foreign investors and left empty to increase in value. I can remember someone on the radio talking about his area, which was, I think Holland Park and of walking back to his own home through streets lined by blocks of flats, none with any lights on.

What is needed is a law to say that if a flat/house is empty for a year the council can serve an order on the owner to get it tenanted within 6 months. If this is not done, the LA would be able to compulsorely take the home over on a 5 year lease and let it to social tenants.

Like any law there would have to be exceptions for houses being cleared and sold, languors in the property market, etc and restrictions that stop flat owners from playing silly tricks to get round the law. But that is what the trained legislation lawyers in Parliament are there for.

Where affordable houses are included in a development they are often excluded from some of the facilities from those available to the owners of the more expensive homes, such as play areas for children.

My son has just got a job as a management trainee for a housing association in Yorkshire. Here's hoping it's growth industry! It will be interesting to hear what plans are in the pipeline.

Our local authority maintained responsibility for its housing stock. We have a lot of brown sites which would benefit from council housing, easy access to the transport centre. Private developers are keen to build on greenfield in our 3 villages, 3-5 miles from the town with a lot of building opportunities. The latest planning approval on the edge of our parkland resulted £ 500,00 properties. Their planning application included affordable houses. £500,000 in my area is not in the affordable bracket

swampy1961

Isn't that the whole idea of having a shadow government?

So that governing party and the shadow can plan strategies for themselves? If so - it's not entirely unrealistic that they can hit the ground running is it?

How can they plan thoroughly before they see the state of the finances left by the out going govt?

Iam64

I hope for social housing, built on the many brown sights around our town.
A couple of our former cotton mills have been transformed into apartment blocks, providing good accommodation

We are north west so we have ‘affordable’ housing in many old terraces. What we lack is well paid work so people can afford to save deposits.

There are hundreds of thousands empty properties, many of them terraces earmarked for demolition. I would have thought that a scheme could be organised whereby a certain group of people could buy them at a low price and then do the house up. Maybe govt backed loans, as they did for businesses during covid (many of which were abused) but with more stringent rules about paying back etc.

It had a variety of facilities on site and as I recall (I could be wrong) it was a gated community.

The owners of the house we bought in Brixton bought it in the hope that they could qualify for the scheme then in place. It didn't and so they sold it to us. My DH worked 7 days a week, either on the house or his restoration business whilst I worked full time. We had to live in it whilst the work was going on around us and that was the major cause of my asthma.

I'm thinking of young couples where one partner may have the skills to renovate such a house. There are several programmes on tv where that happens and often the father of one or both has appropriate skills too.

The other type of building that could be used is tower blocks. they are unsuitable for families and many have been demolished. Some have been modernised to make them suitable for young people. There is one in Clapham that was redeveloped many years ago and was very popular at the time. Very good for people without young children who need out door space

M0nica

Currently 40% of houses on new sites have to be 'affordable', or they do in our area where prices are well above average, but unless there is a significant rise in Housing Association funds they will, quite simply, not be in a position to buy all the 'affordable' homes that will come on the market.

Most LAs having got rid of their council house estate to Housing Associations do not want to get back into that sector.

What is needed is a lareg and strong public housing estate where rents are based on income, not market rents - which in my area are very high.

It appears that councils want to start rebuilding themselves Monica
www.local.gov.uk/topics/housing-and-planning/council-housing-100/future-council-housing#:~:text=In%20the%20past%2010%20years,are%20needed%20across%20the%20country%3F
My own council retained its council house management responsibilities, and is already building new council accommodation, but obviously some councils have gone down a fully devolved model, and no longer manage any housing themselves. I haven’t seen anything from the government about their detailed thoughts on this yet, but I’d imagine the metropolitan mayors will have discussed it yesterday with them.

I hope the developer promoting the first development appealed and that, if the planning officer had recommended approval, costs were awarded against the council. The current system promotes cronyism rather than professional planning.

GSM I agree. I attended a Planning Committee Meeting when a development in my village was being discussed.

The first item on the agenda was an almost identical development in the village next door, the only difference being that the other development had excellent access to the local road system, ours did not,

There was endless argument about the distribution of the Affordable Housing among the big 5 bedroomed houses - and it was tunred down.

Next came our development, which had very poor access to the road system with the village primary school sandwiched between the two planned access routes - a problem at school start time.

Our scheme got planning permission on the grounds that as they had turned down the first development on the list they had to pass ours.

Gsm I know exactly what you mean….

They are. They are still a load of self-interested busybodies who too often think they know better than a professional planning officer.

Gsm I thought that planning committee members were elected local councillors? Busybodies or not.

I would like to see planning applications being decided only by qualified planning officers. On occasion they are of course, but far too many are decided by a committee of totally unqualified people who not infrequently ignore the planning officer’s advice. Many planning committee members are nothing more than self-interested local busybodies.

Currently 40% of houses on new sites have to be 'affordable', or they do in our area where prices are well above average, but unless there is a significant rise in Housing Association funds they will, quite simply, not be in a position to buy all the 'affordable' homes that will come on the market.

Most LAs having got rid of their council house estate to Housing Associations do not want to get back into that sector.

What is needed is a lareg and strong public housing estate where rents are based on income, not market rents - which in my area are very high.

I agree Monica, there are a lot of issues to overcome. Every Local Authority LDP has information on earmarked sites and their supporting infrastructure though, and a lot of irons in the fire - there will be some they can move on, particularly when restrictions are lifted.
I don’t know if all the schemes will be done through traditional developers. If Wales is anything to go by, which it may be now, LAs have built new council houses here in the last few years, and I’d imagine there will be more Housing Association sites as well. We’ll have to wait and see.

Isn't that the whole idea of having a shadow government?

So that governing party and the shadow can plan strategies for themselves? If so - it's not entirely unrealistic that they can hit the ground running is it?

Casdon It also depends on the developers putting in acceptable schemes. Schemes get rejected for all kinds of reasons, not just nimbyism.

One development in our village is currently going the rounds because the developer is trying to cram far too many housing units on to a very small village centre site. His plans include fitting a turntable in the road, as it is so narrow that there is no other way residents cars will be able to turn round, suggesting that a bus bay could be used for residents parking or alternatively the Village Hall car park, 50 metres away. Needless to say this application has been turned down with recomendations to reduce the number of units, and provide adequate parking

It is these kinds of planning applications, and I could describe several more, equally unacceptable that cause the problems, not nimbyism or planning authority delays.

Casdon

eazybee

The Labour Government's 'work ethic' is to get as many of their objectives in place before a credible opposition is formed to challenge them.

If you were the government, of whatever persuasion that would absolutely be your tactic, of course. It’s impressive to see how quickly they are moving.

I think the reason all the plans are being talked about so early is to show the voters that they’re really keen to get moving on things.Not a bad idea in itself but of course talking and plans will take time to translate into meaningful actions.
Posters who say they’re going to wait a year before judging are quite right.
I think most of the daily bulletins supplied on here are the sort of things all new incoming governments do but we usually don’t pay much attention to.