Implications of the Social Housing Green Paper

The Government’s Social Housing Green Paper  consults on a range of measures and policies aimed at reducing the stigma associated with Social Housing, giving residents more influence and delivering more and better homes.

It also signals closure for some of the previous administration’s policies such as the sale of High Value local authority homes.

This roundtable examined what the document along with the draft NPPF might signal for landlord services, for delivery of new homes by local authorities and for estate renewal and regeneration. The Housing Forum is keen to represent the views of the sector back to government and the discussion was directed to help provide an in-depth response on behalf of members to the MHCLG.

It was noted that many of the proposals either reversed controversial policies – such as the selling off of High Value Council Properties – or harked back to pre-coalition approaches to maintaining standards of assets and services (The Housing Inspectorate and the Audit Commission star systems), regulating for the consumer (TSA) and a National Tenant Voice.

All these institutions were abolished in the early years of coalition government. Driving up the safety and standards of homes is welcomed, but not without a corresponding approach to freeing up finance to deliver this.