This is socialist gerrymandering at its worst. Councils have budgeted this money and committed it because they were promised it. Houses won’t get built or properly maintained.
All over Britain the myriad of councils that were elected to get rid of local socialism will be penalised to satisfy one man’s vindictive egotism.
Christina
THE TIMES 23.7.09
Anger as councils foot bill for Brown's £1.5billion social housing programme
Jill Sherman, Whitehall Editor
Hundreds of building projects will be cut to fund Gordon Brown’s £1.5billion social housing programme, The Times has learnt.
Furious council leaders have demanded an urgent meeting with ministers after being told that their plans are in jeopardy because there is no new money to pay for the Prime Minister’s policy, which was announced ten days ago.
Mr Brown said that £1.5billion would be found across Whitehall to fund up to 20,000 new homes for those on low incomes and on council house waiting lists. The policy was at heart of his proposed legislative programme before next year’s election.
But the Department for Communities and Local Government, which was forced to find nearly £600million, has said that the money will have to be taken from existing housing programmes as well as from plans to refurbish council and private rented homes.
John Healey, the Housing Minister, has written to leaders of 50 councils saying that they will each lose millions from their capital allocations for next year to build and support new homes. More than 42 per cent of the fund, which is for areas that have been designated by the Government as needing new homes, has been cut.
Town hall leaders claim that this will result in developments being cut back, delayed or not going ahead. Jill Tuck, leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, which has been one of the authorities worst affected, said that she was “incandescent” when she found out that the county was going to lose half the money that had been promised for next year.
Mr Healey told the authority that its allocation to help to build 58,000 homes around the fringes of Cambridge would be reduced from £13.8million to £7.8million. “It is the worst case of robbing Peter to pay Paul I’ve ever seen.
And yet again it is the Government’s friends in the North and the Midlands who are set to benefit,” Mrs Tuck said. “We will fight this tooth and nail.”
Alex Plant, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Horizons, a non-profit organisation that is co-ordinating the new developments, said many that were on the point of being signed off may have to be pulled.
He explained that the council had tried to help developers by promising some of the growth money in advance to allow the homes to be built more quickly. “Cambridge is one of the areas where we need the most affordable homes. It makes no sense at all to cut the funding,” he said.
Greater Norwich has been told it will lose more than £2.5million. King’s Lynn is losing £2.7million, Exeter and Devon £3.5million, Teignbridge £2.7million and South Hampshire £4million.
Up to 44,000 council homes and 8,600 private rented homes will also not be refurbished next year because £150million is being taken from the Government’s Decent Homes programme and a further £75million from a scheme designed to upgrade rented homes in the private sector.
Havering Council, which is challenging the decision, said that it was relying on £30million over the next two years. “If this funding is taken away, thousands of families won’t get the new windows, bathrooms and kitchens that they have been patiently waiting for,” Michael White, the council’s leader, said.
Mr Healey said that any council could bid for the £1.5billlion pot for social housing. “We have had to make some tough decisions across government about where we spend money but we need to build more homes and especially more homes available at rents people can afford.” [Maybe, but you don’t promise money which goes into the budget and then take it awayso that Brown can win an election -cs]
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