Prop-arazzi

“That this House is deeply concerned by the very poor quality of housing in parts of the privately-rented sector, as evidenced by the recent Rugg review, where damp and poorly insulated properties are a major contributor to health inequality and child poverty in this country; notes that this can be a particular problem in homes of multiple occupancy such as in seaside towns as well as in cities where prices are high but incomes are low; commends the Government for committing to raising all social housing to the decent homes standard; and urges the Government to do the same for privately-rented housing by refusing to pay housing benefit and local housing allowance for substandard properties”.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has given local authorities approximately £68 million a year to improve the handling of planning applications and in particular to speed them up. While authorities are taking more decisions on major housing schemes within 13 weeks, the true extent of the improvement across the development process is not as clear as it could be.

The combination of the extra grant and the setting by the Department of targets has encouraged local authorities to give a higher priority to taking speedier decisions. The Department’s figures on processing planning applications for large housing developments show a significant improvement, with 67 per cent of decisions being reached in 13 weeks in 2007-08, up from 37 per cent in 2002-03. But the extent of improvement across the development process is less clear because the Department’s performance measure excludes the time spent before an application’s submission and after its subsequent approval, both of which can be substantial.

The Department does not collect data on how long it took to reach these decisions. The National Audit Office found that, for the 11 authorities they visited, decisions to reject were taken more quickly than those to approve, with approval taking on average 25 weeks for 100 cases which we examined from 2006-07.

To try to help speed up and improve the process, the Department has successfully encouraged planning authorities to hold pre-application discussions with developers. There can, however, be a lack of clarity over the purpose of these discussions and, as a result, authorities take an inconsistent approach in handling these meetings, reducing their effectiveness. For example, Authority staff may lack the experience or seniority required, and there can be a lack of continuity of staffing between these discussions and the application itself.

Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office:
 “The Department has given local authorities a greater financial incentive to reach quicker decisions on planning applications, with more decisions on major housing schemes now being taken within 13 weeks than five years ago. Whether the speed of development has increased is less clear. The Department should use the data collected by the National Audit Office as a benchmark for assessing its future effectiveness in improving the planning process.”

A deal worth more than £400 million to help first time buyers aspiring to buy their own home was approved today by Housing Minister Margaret Beckett, as part of the Government’s programme of action to tackle current difficulties in the economy.

More than 130 developers have agreed to offer the HomeBuy Direct scheme which will help up to 18,000 first time buyers to purchase a home at sites across England aided by an equity loan, part funded by the Government and the developer. The equity loan, which will be free of charge for five years, can be used as a deposit and can cover up to 30 per cent of the purchase price.

This means a first-time buyer could purchase a house worth £180,000 for as little as £126,000. As with other HomeBuy schemes, any first-time buyers whose household income is under £60,000 who cannot otherwise afford to buy will be able to apply.

The scheme will also support the house building industry by identifying buyers for their new homes, helping them to weather the current difficult conditions in the market.

Eligible first time buyers will be able to apply for the scheme from early 2009 by contacting a HomeBuy agent in their region.

The Queen’s Speech took place today, outlining the legislative programme for the 2008/2009 parliamentary session. Fourteen Bills and seven draft Bills were announced. A short summary of each can be found below.

Banking Bill

The Banking Bill has been carried over from the previous parliamentary session. The Bill aims to introduce a “special resolution regime” (SSR) to allow the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority to intervene when a bank face severe difficulties - this includes the introduction of two new insolvency regimes for banks. The Banking Bill also aims to strengthen the Bank of England’s role in maintaining the UK’s financial stability by giving the Bank a statutory financial stability objective, establishing a Financial Stability Committee and providing the Bank of England with additional tools, such as formal oversight of payment systems and a key role in the SRR. The Bill will introduce measures to enable the Financial Services Authority to more easily share information on banks in difficulties with the Bank of England or HM Treasury, where relevant to maintaining financial stability and with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Business Rates Supplements Bill

The purpose of the Business Rates Supplements Bill is to give upper tier local authorities the power to levy a local supplement on the business rate and retain the proceeds for economic development. This will affect County Councils, Unitary Authorities and the Greater London Authority. The Bill will bring in a requirement that proceeds should be spent on economic development; consultation and, in certain circumstances, a ballot of businesses that would be affected;  a national upper limit to the levy of 2p per £1 of rateable value; and an exemption for all properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or less.

Marine and Coastal Access Bill

This Bill would introduce a new planning system for the marine area, improve and simplify arrangements for managing marine development and ensure greater protection for the marine environment and biodiversity. It aims to provide greater recreational access to the English coast and will establish a Marine Management Organisation for the waters around England and the UK offshore area. The Bill will also reform the licensing and management of fisheries, including creating new Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and introducing a scheme to manage live fish movement. The Bill also seeks to make more efficient use of marine resources, taking account of current usage and potential future demand, with better opportunities for all stakeholders to help shape the way in which the seas are managed.

Draft Floods and Water Bill

The draft Floods and Water Bill aims to create a more effective regime for flood and coastal erosion risk management, and will introduce measures for the improved sustainability of water resources including the avoidance of water scarcity.  The Bill will focus on the simplification of funding arrangements; improved and more focused risk management of reservoir safety; measures to improve  the resilience of water sources to the effects of climate change; and will also include measures to facilitate land management which supports flood and coastal erosion risk management.

Child Poverty Bill

This Bill will enshrine into law the Government’s  pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020. The legislation is intended to work across all government departments to find a long term solution to child poverty. In the Pre-Budget Report, the Government also pledged to launch a consultation on how legislation can fulfil their commitment to eradicate child poverty in the long term. The consultation document is expected in the new year. The PBR also detailed that the child element of the Child Tax Credit will increase by £75 above indexation to £2,235 and bring forward the Government’s commitment to increase Child Benefit from £18.80 to £20 per week for the first child, and from £12.55 to £13.20 per week for subsequent children to January 2009.

Equality Bill

Positive discrimination in favour of female and ethnic minority candidates will be allowed under the provisions of the Equality Bill. The legislation will also consolidate nine existing equality laws into one. Contracts which contain clauses preventing workers from discussing what they earn will also be outlawed in a bid to promote greater transparency. In addition, new powers will enable employment tribunals to tackle discrimination by making recommendations to employers on diversifying their organisation. The Bill will also strengthen current legislation on age-discrimination with a focus on protecting the vast proportion of population approaching retirement age.

Draft Bribery Bill

The draft Bribery Bill aims to reform the criminal law to provide a new, comprehensive scheme of bribery offences.  The main elements of the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Bill are to enact core bribery offences dealing with generality of both active and passive bribery; discrete offences dealing with the bribery of foreign public officials in order to obtain a business advantage and the liability of companies for failures to prevent bribery committed on their behalf;  and a requirement that prosecutions for bribery cannot proceed without the consent of the Director of the relevant prosecuting authority rather than the consent of the Attorney-General as provided by existing law. 

Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill

This Bill will aim to strengthen border controls, by bringing together customs and immigration powers, and to ensure that newcomers to the United Kingdom earn the right to stay.  It will also strengthen the law and support the development of the UK Border Agency. The main elements of the Bill are: to provide for better integration of customs and immigration functions within the new Border Agency; to implement the new path to citizenship, with progress slowed down if migrants fail to make an effort to integrate or commit minor crimes; to implement a new duty for the UK Border Agency to safeguard the welfare of children; to ensure fairness in nationality cases by removing the historical cut-off point for enabling children of British mothers born before 1961 to become British themselves; and enabling members of the armed forces serving overseas to register their children as British. 

Draft Immigration Simplification Bill

The aim of this draft Bill is to replace the many existing Immigration Acts, dating back to 1971, with a single, simplified Act. The Bill would replace ten separate pieces of immigration law, of which some of the earlier provisions have already been partially superseded by subsequent Acts, with a single Act of Parliament, and provide for sharper and more consistent set of immigration rules, which can continue to be quickly adjusted in response to changing circumstances. This would be designed to secure increased transparency and efficiency of the immigration system, and ensure that the law is easier to enforce. The Bill would also look to consolidate, streamline existing procedures and close any loopholes in order to support staff and enhance their decision making.

Children, Skills and Learning Bill

This Bill aims to empower every child and adult to realise their full potential in order to ensure that the UK remains competitive in the 21st Century. It aims to reform education, training and apprenticeships for young people and adults, provide new powers to strengthen children’s trusts, improve standards in schools and increase confidence in qualifications. Elements of the Bill include: a new right to request time for training; raising standards in all schools; enabling schools to tackle disruptive behavior; making education and skills provision more accountable locally and more responsive to local needs; and a slimmer national education and skills infrastructure which is more responsive to local and individual needs. The Bill would introduce an entitlement to an apprenticeship place for each suitably-qualified young person from 2013, and establish a statutory basis for the apprenticeship programme. The Bill would also improve the quality of education to young offenders by both bringing young offenders under the education legislative regime, so that they receive education which is more closely aligned to the mainstream, and also by placing a duty on local authorities with juvenile establishments in their area to secure appropriate education provision for young offenders in them.

Policing and Crime Bill

This Policing and Crime Bill intends to increase the effectiveness and public accountability of policing by providing a voice for the public through directly-elected representatives. Furthermore, the Bill aims to protect vulnerable members of society including women and children by tackling demand for prostitution and strengthening arrangements around sex offender prevention orders and foreign travel orders. The Bill also aims to tighten controls around lap dancing clubs and the misuse of alcohol, including the sale of alcohol, and intends to strengthen the ability to fight serious and organised crime through improved recovery of criminal assets and improved international judicial co-operation. Additionally, the Bill will introduce measures to improve airport security by enabling better inter-agency co-operation.

Coroners and Justice Bill

This Bill aims to create of a new national coroner service, led by a new Chief Coroner, moving towards full-time coroners working within flexible jurisdictions and to national minimum standards, with powers to commission non-invasive post-mortems where appropriate, and complying with a charter of services for bereaved families. The Coroners and Justice Bill would create new system of secondary certification of deaths that are not referred to the coroner, covering both burials and cremations. The Bill also includes reform of the law on homicide.

Draft Communication Data Bill

This draft Bill will introduce measures on the collection and retention of data, including data not required for the business purposes of communications service providers; and to ensure strict safeguards continue to strike a balance between privacy and protecting the public. The Bill would modify the procedures for acquiring communications data and allow this data to be retained. The Bill also intends to bring the legislative framework on access to communications data up to date with changes taking place in the telecommunications industry and the move to using Internet Protocol (IP) communications services.

Health Bill

The Bill seeks to further a number of policy streams that began or were implemented this year including the NHS Constitution, direct payments and quality accounts. It appears that new measures are also being considered to take further action to reduce the harm of  smoking, with plans to protect children and young people in particular.  The NHS constitution would be published along with the Bill with a suggestion that there will be little if any further consultation on the Constitution due to consultation work already done this year. Social care will also be considered, with plans to allow the Local Government Ombudsman to consider complaints from people who have arranged their own adult social care.          

Welfare Reform Bill

With the theme of improving support, increasing incentives for work and encouraging responsibility , the Bill aims to move even further with welfare reform following the introduction of  Employment & Support Allowance in October. It will be closely linked to both the Child Poverty Bill and also the response to the consultation undertaken for the Green Paper “No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility”. Key measures include a requirement for joint birth registration, strengthening of the requirements for nonresident parents to contribute to their children’s upbringing, further modification and simplification of the benefits system and plans to give disabled people greater choice & control.

Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

The Saving Gateway Accounts Bill aims to provide a financial incentive for some of the poorest members of society to save. It will establish a national savings gateway scheme and will give HM Revenue and Customs the power to administer it, including powers of administration and powers to set penalties for fraud and non-compliance. The Bill will also set out the duties of those banks and building societies who wish to participate and will define the persons eligible for the scheme. The scheme will be open to persons in receipt of qualifying benefits and tax credits, and would see the Government contribute 50 pence for every pound saved in the mature account of those using the scheme. It scheme would be expected to open in 2010, with the first Government contributions made in 2012.

Draft Civil Law Reform Bill

The draft Civil Law Reform Bill will bring forward a number of civil law reform measures, including several recommendations of the Law Commission. The Bill aims to provide an opportunity to modernise and simplify the law on a variety of subjects. The Bill’s enactment is intended to demonstrate the Government’s support of the Law Commission and the Government’s commitment to law reform. The Bill is likely to include proposals in relation to dependency claims and bereavement damages (fatal Accidents Act 1976); how long a claimant has to take civil legal proceedings (Limitation Act 1980); and giving the Lord Chancellor powers to specify rates of interest by order, including power to award compound interest if appropriate.

Political Parties and Elections Bill

This Bill was carried over from the previous parliamentary session. The Bill aims to strengthen the regulation of the funding and spending of political parties. The Electoral Commission would be given greater power to regulate and sanction. The aim of the bill is to improve transparency of donations; bring in more effective control on candidate’s spending; encourage political participation; and allow for the returning of European Parliament elections by local authority returning officers.

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill

The main aim of this Bill is to promote local democracy and economic development, devolve power to local government and communities and ensure fairness in construction contracts. The Electoral Commission’s role in electoral boundary matters will be removed through the creation of an independent Boundary Committee for England. The Bill will also introduce measures to give the Audit Commission in England and the Auditor General for Wales the power to appoint an auditor to certain local government entities and to issue a public interest report about those entities if appropriate. Other measures include improvements to the finance and rights to adjudication in construction contracts. The Bill also aims to provide social housing tenants with more choice, protection and influence over how their homes are managed.

Draft Community Empowerment Bill

This draft Community Empowerment Bill will include measures to enhance local democracy and empower communities. It will aim to amend politically restricted posts, enable remote voting for councillors, and introduce voting incentives. The draft Bill also aims to modernise provisions around parish councils and remove the barriers to directly electing mayors.

Draft Antarctica Bill

This Bill seeks to safeguard the environmental wellbeing of the Antarctic area by requiring UK Antarctic operators to take preventative measures to reduce the risk of environmental emergencies, to develop contingency plans, and to take prompt and effective action when emergencies arise. The Bill also seeks to impose financial liability on operators who fail to take appropriate action and will aims to allow the UK to uphold its commitment to the Antarctic Treaty.

Sarah Teather, MP for Brent East has moved from business, enterprise and regulatory reform to become housing spokeswoman for the party.

 

The British Construction Industry Awards 2008 are due to be announced at a gala awards dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London this week. The BCI Awards are widely regarded as the industry’s ‘Oscars’. The awards dinner will attract around 900  members of the construction industry in the UK.
National Construction Week is also scheduled to take place from the 8th of October. The aim of the week is to inform young people about the many careers available in the modern construction industry.

 

This graph from the BBC website says it all:

 

Housing Minister Caroline Flint MP joined us this morning at Weber Shandwick for a briefing session for which we are very grateful. Please click the link below for our latest briefing -Housing the Nation.

Demographic and social changes, leading to the formation of more, smaller households, have been upping the pressure for an increase in housing supply for nearly a decade. More recently, the squeeze on access to mortgage finance means that the affordability of buying one’s own home is becoming increasingly remote for lower income groups. When you add to that the challenge of improving the environmental performance of domestic accommodation – a major source of carbon dioxide emissions – it is easier to still see why housing has again been elevated as a major policy issue for the Government. This guide explores the Government’s growing concentration on the provision of greater social housing.

Please click here to download the guide.

Caroline Flint was on sparkling form as she addressed a packed audience at Weber Shandwick this morning. 

Speaking to a room full of industry experts she outlined the Government policy on eco-towns, refurbishment, local government, use of government land and much more.

Watch this space for future event information.