| Grooming row 'takes the biscuit' The husband of a dinner lady who was warned that allowing a child a biscuit could be seen as grooming said she has had a "horrendous two years". bbc.co.uk |
Carnival organisers take on the DVLA over float dispute A heated dispute between organisers of a carnival in Somerset and the DVLA ended up on the desk of Whitehall officials. telegraph.co.uk |
Cuts are a devastating blow to housing | Alison Seabeck Labour must partly shoulder the blame for a shortage of homes, but the coalition is swinging a wrecking ballPolitics has the habit of inviting unwanted and ineffective hyperbole. This is no time for exaggeration – and with the policies of this government on housing there is no need for it.There is a shortage of homes, not just in London and the south-east, but across the country for which, I must admit, my party must shoulder some of the blame. However, even in the teeth of the deepest recession in living memory, the Labour government supported the building of more than 50,000 new homes in the six months to the start of this year.How will the coalition government build on this scale? The housing budget hasn't been trimmed, it's been slashed by at least 60%. Over the past three years Labour spent £8.4bn to build new affordable homes. Over four years this government will spend just £4.4bn. It is no surprise that housing experts, housing charities and those involved in building more homes have come out against the coalition's chosen course.Grant Shapps, the housing minister, came into office claiming the coalition would build more houses than Labour. In September he told the communities and local government select committee that he would consider himself a success in his job if there were more houses built under the coalition than Labour built at the height of the boom.In the gulf between his warm words and his cold policies, Mr Shapps hasn't just set himself up for a sharp and painful fall; he's done the same to the aspirations of hundreds of thousands of families who simply want a roof over their head.Since coming into office he has revoked a major chunk of the planning system, the Regional Spatial Strategy. Claiming that this would devolve power to communities it has seen more than 70 local authorities cancel planned housing developments and 1,300 new homes are not being started every single day, which would have been if he hadn't changed the system. Housebuilders are now taking this government to court for the mess they've made of the planning system and the consequential collapse in new homes.That isn't the end of the problem: the National Housing Federation predicts that 300,000 fewer homes will be built over the next 12 months than otherwise would have been. A long-promised incentive scheme for houses has now been brought forward, which could precipitate an even more acute shortage of homes and a crisis in the construction industry that, according to some estimates, will cost up to 280,000 jobs on building sites alone by 2020.Despite this concern, the government with its Damascene conversion to targets has set one for housing: 150,000 new, affordable, homes over the coming four-year period. The government expects these new homes to be paid for by increasing rents charged to tenants in council and housing association properties to 80% of market rate. Either ministers do not understand how great an increase this will be, or they simply do not care about the social impact of these changes.Across England as a whole, 80% of the average weekly market rent for a three-bedroom property is £249, which rises to £350 in London. The comparable social rents are £84.56 across England and £110 in London. Social housing providers are likely to be given greater freedom to choose their tenants and we could see low-income families, the unemployed and vulnerable excluded from new social lettings because they can't meet the average extra £8,550 a year for a home across England or the average extra £12,480 in the capital.This policy does not seem to have been fully thought through and nor has the social impact and future cost of the changes to housing benefit. The coalition has some very serious questions to answer as these cuts are rolled out and their impact felt across the country.Spending review 2010HousingCommunitiesLiberal-Conservative coalitionLabourAlison Seabeckguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Woman 'killed instantly' in crash A mother-of-three was killed instantly when a police car being driven in the middle of the road crashed head-on into her vehicle, a court hears. bbc.co.uk |
Fracas and fury as Labour Lewisham approves cuts package I wasn't there, but sueluxton was:Well, I reckon almost every copper in Lewisham has just charged into Lewisham Town Hall.That was about two hours ago. Check these tweets for other accounts from the scene. Pay particular attention to hangbitch. For instance:Whole street outside lewisham council is closed + full of coppersAlso:Here come some mounted coppersShe took this footage too. Lewisham is a Labour-dominated Council, led by Sir Steve Bullock. Spending cuts of over £16 million were recommended at a cabinet meeting on 18 November, amid heavy heckling by anti-cuts protesters. Tonight saw the formal approval of (I think) alomst the entire package. Green councillor Darren Johnson AM tweeted the result: Lewisham cuts package approved. 36 for. 3 against. 11 abstain. Greens and tories against. Lab for. Ld abstain.Interesting voting pattern. More on this tomorrow. It's not getting any more tranquil out there, Dave.London politicsLondonLocal politicsLocal governmentLabourDave Hillguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |