Social housing shake-up questioned
By politics.co.uk staff
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries became the latest government backbencher to question David Cameron’s social housing plans yesterday.
The prime minister had outlined plans to remove the lifetime security of tenure currently enjoyed by those living in council housing, in a bid to make Britain’s social housing more efficient.
Mid-Befordshire’s Ms Dorries suggested the move could remove incentives for council house owners to improve their circumstances, however.
“We have 1.8 million people who need council houses now. I don’t see that reviewing new council house tenants in five years, and if their situation has improved moving them on, is going to do anything to deal with the problem we have today,” she told the Today programme.
“The bedrock of families is the family home and I do not think that saying to people ‘in five years’ time you might lose your home’ is a good way for people to try to improve their lot.”
Ms Dorries is likely to find many allies among Liberal Democrat MPs, many of whom disagree with Mr Cameron’s proposals.
The party’s deputy leader, Simon Hughes, has said the Lib Dems “would need a lot of persuading” to accept the idea.
Mr Cameron told voters in Birmingham last week: “There is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking when you are given a council home, is it for a fixed period.
“Maybe in five or ten years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won’t need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector… looking at a more flexible system, I think makes sense.”
The government wants to encourage those living in social housing to move to find work by introducing a ‘right to move’ scheme.
Last week housing minister Grant Shapps also announced a national home swap scheme would be established to help those living in overcrowded accommodation swap homes with those who have too much spare space.
