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Housing

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
 Preamble

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
Under the Tories, private ownership or rental of housing was favoured: council tenants gained the right to buy their homes or were pressurised to transfer to housing associations. Councils were not allowed to use the £6 billion raised to repair or build more properties, and council house building fell from 78,000 in 1980 to less than 2000 in 1994. Council house rents rose at 3 times the rate of inflation, and tenants were made responsible for the costs of housing benefit to their fellows. When private homes were repossessed because people couldn't afford the payments there were few public sector homes to take them. 160,000 households were homeless in 1994. Councils were freed from their obligation to provide roadside sites for travellers.
Labour policy was:
1To stop the pressure to transfer council houses to housing associations 
2To release capital receipts so that councils could build more houses 
3To undertake a major programme of repair and improvement to social housing 
4To stop council tenants having to pay for the housing benefit of their fellows ? 
5To build sufficient affordable housing to drastically reduce homelessness 
6To make councils again provide sites for travellers 
In fact under New Labour:
1Pressure has continued with a target of 200,000 homes to transfer per yearLeft as under the Conservatives
2Most of the receipts still can't be used for new council housing - which had fallen to 83 in 1999, [later figure?]Pledge partially carried out
3This has been made conditional on transfer out of council controlPledge partially carried out
4Council tenants still pay for their fellows' housing benefitLeft as under the Conservatives
5Less than one-sixth of new housing is affordable and the number of homeless households has risen since 1997 (?)Left as under the Conservatives
6Provision of travellers sites is still not mandatory on councilsLeft as under the Conservatives
In addition:
Bullet pointThe number of rough sleepers has fallen steeply 
Bullet pointA Rowntree report says the housing crisis is the worst since 1924 
Bullet pointFor new housing in the south-east density requirements have doubled and supporting facilities and infrastructure are inadequate 
Bullet pointShared-equity homes are intended to help first-time buyers 
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