TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| The rise of the silver apprentice There has been a surge in the number of over 50s retraining to learn new skills. bbc.co.uk |
Lord Browne review: round-up of reaction Following Lord Browne's review into the funding of British universities Telegraph.co.uk presents a round-up of reviews from media and education experts today. telegraph.co.uk |
Council housing can bind communities | Chris Nicholson The Conservative proposal to end security of tenure for council tenants risks destroying a force for social cohesionNye Bevan said in 1949 that one of the aims of post-war social housing policy was to preserve "the living tapestry of the mixed community". When my (middle-class) parents got married in the mid-1950s their (and my) first home was a council house, and their experience was a common one at the time. As late as 1979 more than 20% of those in the top 10% of earners lived in council housing. But as a result of "right to buy" and the growth of owner occupation, by 2004-5 less than 5% of households in the top half of the income distribution were in social housing (see figure 9.1 here).The Conservative proposal to end security of tenure for council tenants, floated by David Cameron in August and due to be announced in the comprehensive spending review, risks being the final nail in the coffin of Bevan's vision of mixed communities. But does it matter, and is there an alternative? Yes.It is not surprising that the government is looking to free up more social housing for the 1.8 million people on council housing waiting lists. But if the reports of what the government is proposing are correct, and that in future new tenants will be forced to move if their circumstances (likely to be measured by income) improve, this risks introducing a significant disincentive for people to better their circumstances and risks further stigmatising social housing tenants and estates.But, perhaps even more important than this, it risks removing the "social glue" that often helps to hold these communities together. On the estates around where I live in Lambeth it is generally the more long-term, prosperous tenants who help run the tenants' and residents' associations and serve as informal community leaders.Forcing these tenants out would cause irreparable damage to these communities and be completely contrary to the aims of the "big society". The result could be estates where low aspiration and intergenerational poverty are entrenched by poor school performance and limited experience of the labour market.It clearly is not "fair" that people who perhaps went through temporarily difficult circumstances at some point in their life, leading to them becoming council tenants, should then be entitled to housing at below-market rents for the rest of their lives. But the solution to this is not to threaten them with eviction from their homes – it is to increase their rent.In a paper to be published this week, the thinktank CentreForum proposes just such an approach, drawing on the experience of Hong Kong. There, after 10 years in subsidised public rental housing, households are required to declare household income biennially and rental levels can be adjusted up to market levels. Of course, some tenants might choose to move, but that would be their choice, not a decision imposed on them. The increased rental income could then be used to help fund new social housing.The period before which income is assessed will need to be sufficiently long to avoid being too great a disincentive to get work and sufficiently short that people do not benefit from sub-market rents for too long. A decade seems about right.Given all the current constraints on public spending and demand for affordable housing, it is unlikely that we will ever get back to Bevan's vision of genuinely mixed communities. There is a need to introduce greater flexibility into the social housing stock, but ending security of tenure is not the way to do it.HousingSpending review 2010Tax and spendingConservativesCommunitiesChris Nicholsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
BMC job loss figures 'deceitful' Trade unions representing staff at Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) say management has been "deceitful" about the number of planned job losses. bbc.co.uk |
London's rising skyline Various new buildings are popping up in the capital's financial area – many of them with a distinctly futuristic look guardian.co.uk |