Posts tagged ‘Housing’
Housing: Coalition housing plans
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010For comparison, agendaNi considers the Coalition Government’s changes to housing policy in England to date. The Department for Communities and Local Government (usually branded as ‘Communities and Local Government’) handles housing policy in England. Housing Minister Grant Shapps reports to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles; both are Conservatives. The Government’s first housing announcement (on 20 May) was the suspension of the controversial home information packs, required for house sales. The packs, which also applied in Wales, will eventually be abolished and are being...[full story]
Housing: Benefits argument is not over
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010Disputes over housing benefit follow the spending review. As Alex Attwood prepares to put forward Northern Ireland’s case against housing benefit reforms to the Minister for Welfare Reform, the Coalition Government is under pressure from Liberal Democrat and Conservative backbenchers over the matter. Social security is technically devolved but policy mirrors Great Britain to ensure parity across the UK. Assembly Welfare Bills therefore closely resemble their counterparts in Parliament The housing benefit reforms, which could apply to Northern Ireland if passed in Parliament, are as...[full story]
Housing: European lending for local housing
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010A relatively recent addition to the social housing landscape in Northern Ireland, the European Investment Bank is increasingly becoming a source of funding for the sector here. Director General of Lending Tom Hackett gives Ryan Jennings an overview of the bank’s work in the province to date. The European Investment Bank is relatively new to Northern Ireland. Historically its role in housing was limited to just retrofit and reconstruction and not new builds or additions. Active in Great Britain since 2000, no specific part of the bank’s remit explicitly covers social housing. Since...[full story]
Housing: Healthy housing
Friday, May 14th, 2010Ryan Jennings hears South Eastern Trust Chief Executive Hugh McCaughey’s explanation of the role of housing in keeping the population healthy. Housing, Hugh McCaughey says, is one of the major health determinants. Simply increasing the standard of housing – and therefore decreasing deprivation – would contribute to both a longer life expectancy and lower rates of poor health. “If you look back over the last century or centuries, the big gains in public health have been made through sanitation and housing,” he suggests. Research by the World Health Organisation would also suggest...[full story]
Housing: Taking stock
Friday, May 14th, 2010Property consultants Savills had many good things to say about the state of the social housing stock here but some MLAs want more emphasis on maintaining existing properties rather than new-builds. Housing in Northern Ireland has not always been straight forward. Indeed the present housing authority – the Housing Executive – was created in 1972 because of inequalities in the allocation of then- council housing. When the SDLP took the Department for Social Development after the 2007 election, it did so with new-builds high on its agenda. DSD pledged to build 2,000 extra houses each...[full story]
