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Labour Housing Group Newsletter - December 2020
This has been a big year for housing. The pandemic and its
knock-on effects have changed the way wesee our homes, exacerbating
problems we have known of for years but also showing how we
canrespond quickly to an emergency.
Housing and homelessness policy areas have changed radically
over the last 12 months. My work hasbeen dominated by the pandemic:
confronting the government on homelessness, calling for
greaterprotections for renters and drawing attention to
inconsistencies in government support schemes.
In 2021, I will continue these and hold the Government to its
promises following the Grenfell Towertragedy and pushing for
zero-carbon, high quality housing. The Government must recognise
thatzero-carbon housing is essential to meeting its net-zero
emissions targets.
Over Christmas, I’ll reflect on my central priority - ensuring
that everyone has a decent place to live.This is fundamental to
Labour’s vision to make this country ia great place to grow up and
grow old in. Ilook forward to continuing to work with you to make
this a reality.I hope you enjoy a much-needed break. See you in
2021.
Thangam Debbonaire MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
ELECTION BATTLEGROUND 2021Next year looks to be a busy one in
the number and variety of seats upfor election. Additional contests
are due to those postponed from 2020under the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Those elected “a year late” in 2021 willserve three-year terms so
as to maintain the four-year electoral-cycle.All County Councils
have elections thisyear.36 metropolitan boroughs haveelections.
Rotherham, Doncaster &Salford have all-out elections but
thereare none in Birmingham. All the othershave one councillor per
wardpostponed from 2020, plus by-elections.Unitary Authorities: 13
have electionsfor all councillors while 15 others electonly one
third of councillors. Directly-elected mayors will be chosen in
Bristol,Doncaster, Liverpool, North Tyneside,Salford.The London
Mayor and the LondonAssembly elections are also due.The Combined
Authority Mayors forCambridgeshire and Peterborough,
Greater Manchester, Liverpool CityRegion, Tees Valley, West
Midlands,West of England, West Yorkshire are upfor election.62 out
of the 182 Non-MetropolitanDistrict Councils will hold elections
forone third of councillorsAll 129 members of the
ScottishParliament and all 60 members of theSenedd Cymru are
scheduled.All four police and crimecommissioners in Wales are up
forelection.For more information
seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_Kingdom_local_elections
IN THIS ISSUEPage 1: Electionbattleground
Pages 2, 3: Stoppingevictions
Page 4: CouncilHomebuilding for the21st Century
Page 5: Heatedargument
Page 6: HealthInequality
Page 7: Burning issue
Page 8: Who we are
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_Kingdom_local_electionshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_Kingdom_local_elections
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loss of private tenancies (lower at 11% due to themoratorium on
evictions).
Shelter estimate an eye-watering 320,000renters have been newly
plunged into rentarrears since the start of the pandemic.
The London School of Economics reports that anestimated 55,000
households were given notice to
leave their homes by private landlords duringthe pandemic and
that around 700,000
may fall into rent arrears in the next12 months.
Disturbingly, just last weekthe Joseph Rowntree
Foundation published findingsshowing a high proportion ofrenters
were already reducing
spending on essentials, with 70%spending less on food and
49%
spending less on heating andelectricity. For those with
children, 39%were spending less on children’s food and
nappies.
In response to the outcry, a ban on evictions wasintroduced by
the Government as part of a seriesof housing support measures under
theCoronavirus Act 2020.
This involved the suspension of ongoing housingpossession action
in England and Wales for aperiod of 90 days from 27th March to 24th
August2020.
More intervention needed
Many welcomed this much needed intervention.Regrettably, the
postponement did not extend toall situations, excluding lodger
arrangements andother occupiers such as commercial tenancies.
Whilst rapturous applause for our NHS staffrippled through the
UK, the loophole affected ournurses, carers and other NHS workers
as theywere asked to leave by their landlords.
Where government restrictions on eviction didnot apply, very few
options were afforded tothem.
STOPPING AN EVICTIONS EXPLOSIONThe Government’s ‘circuit break’
on housingevictions was merely a sticking plaster, failing
toprotect those most in need, safeguard theirhomes and build a
stable foundation, strongenough to weather the turbulent times
ahead.
A year ago, the word ‘Coronavirus’ was almostunheard of. In
retrospect, lifeappeared to make sense and societalproblems
continued to dominatefor the many less fortunate, notthe privileged
few.
Nothing could have preparedus for the massivebombshell in 2020
andhow the pandemicwould exacerbate thealready
prevalentsocioeconomic inequities inthe UK.
Widespread deprivation
So it will come as no surprise that researchshows basic housing
needs are severely impactedby this pandemic, extending beyond
thetraditional cohorts of deprivation.
We have seen a significant rise in the workingpoor - people on
furlough and reduced workinghours - struggling to make ends meet,
includingrental liabilities and mortgage repayments.
According to government figures at the end ofJune 2020, 98,300
homeless household wereliving in temporary accommodation,
anunprecedented rise of 7% in just three monthsfrom 92,190
households at the end of March, anda rise of 14% in a year.
Risk of homelessness
Between April and June 2020, 63,570 householdsapproached the
local authority and were found tobe homeless or at risk of
homelessness.
The most common triggers of homelessnessduring the initial
lock-down period werehouseholds no longer able to stay with family
andfriends (33%), domestic violence (11%) and the
https://www.jrf.org.uk/housinghttps://www.jrf.org.uk/housing
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A reprieveIn June, another reprieve was announced,extending the
moratorium for a further twomonths until 20 September 2020 to
accompanythe re-opening of the courts and the introductionof the
‘tier’ system which varies with the severityof the pandemic.
To protect tenants where the public health riskwas highest,
bailiffs were discouraged fromenforcing warrants where the
lock-downmeasures were most restrictive.
Following the introduction of new nationalrestrictions in
England, the Public Health(Coronavirus) Protections from Eviction
and TakingControl of Goods (England) Regulation 2020 cameinto force
on 17 November 2020 but offered onlylimited protection. Those in
substantial rentarrears, defined as at least 9 months arrears atthe
date of the Court Order (and not includingarrears accrued after
23rd March 2020), would beafforded no protection.
Notwithstanding this draconian legal imposition,few Government
resources were offered to localcouncils to ease pressure on already
strugglingservices.
What now?Despite recent measures to avert homelessnesssuch as
the extension of notice periods for 6months, more affirmative
action is needed toprevent renters from falling into arrears from
theoutset.
An early intervention approach should bepromoted that can
substantially reduce therisk of homelessness, including access to
freelegal advice and assistance.Advice previously given under the
Legal AidSentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012has been
severely cut by the Tory Governmentand made inaccessible for those
such as theworking poor.
There are now limited numbers of Legal Aidproviders throughout
the country. They offer avital service but are now less able to
meet theincreasing demand for assistance due to the lackof
Government funding.
STOPPING AN EVICTIONS EXPLOSION (continued)Without ready access
to justice, renters are oftenill-equipped to exercise their legal
rights,especially when landlords have their own expertlegal
representatives.
According to Shadow Justice Secretary, DavidLammy, “as we enter
an economic crisis which couldlead to levels of joblessness not
seen since the 1980s,the lack of legal representation will lead to
injusticeon an industrial scale”. Moreover, we have seen acut
of 36% to spending on criminal and civil legalaid funding advice
over the past decade meaningthat legal representation is no longer
available tothose who need it. More than 37 million people
inEngland and Wales now live in a local authoritywithout a legal
aid provider.
To compound matters, HM Courts and Tribunals(HMCTS) has revealed
the backlog of court casesat the end of September 2020 stood at
awhopping 509,347 in the Magistrates and 48,713in the County Court.
This has left many in limbo,thus prolonging the fear and anguish
andexacerbating mental health conditions.
Labour demands no one will lose their home
Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Housing Secretaryreiterates that “An
estimated 700,000 householdsare in rent arrears. For comparison,
that is morethan the total number of households inBirmingham and
Sheffield combined. Around halfof these households are two months
behind – inEngland that means courts would be forced
toautomatically grant repossession orders.
These numbers should shock governmentministers into action. They
need to make realchanges to housing law and the benefits systemso
they can keep their promise, that ‘no-one willlose their
home because of this crisis’”.
ConclusionMany believe the temporary ban on evictionsdoes not go
far enough, and with the economicrecession on the horizon it is
even more crucialthat clear, well considered steps are taken at
theearliest opportunity to safeguard homes.
Amanda Pinnock (LHG Executive Member)
(Further information on page 4)
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EVICTIONS EXPLOSION(continued)
USEFUL QUOTATIONSThangam Debbonaire(Shadow Secretary of State
forHousing) on rent arrears
andhomelessnesshttp://www.ukpol.co.uk/thangam-debbonaire-2020-letter-on-homelessness/
David Lammy – (ShadowMinister for Justice) on legal
aidhttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2020-05-06.43826.
GETTING HELP
Shelter’s free housingadvice helpline runs 365days a year
on 0808 8004444Citizens Advicehttps://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
can help you understandyour rights, particularly if youare
negotiating a payment planwith your landlord.
Advice4Rentershttps://adviceforrenters.org/get-support can
provide free orcheap legal advice plusrepresentation from
specialists.
Get Rent Backhttps://www.getrentback.org/can help you claim
money backfrom a landlord who broketerms of your agreement
Justice For Tenantshttps://justicefortenants.org/can support you
in getting anunprotected deposit back.
Stepchange Debt Advicehttps://stepchange.org/ offersfree debt
advice
Earlier this year at our LHG conference,one of our Patrons,
James Murray MP,launched the Building Council HomesProject in
partnership with LabourHousing Group. Solving
Britain’shousing crisis will need action for asustained period on
many fronts,including reform of the privaterented sector, changes
to themortgage market and financialregulation, and a properly
fundedwelfare state to help people facinghomelessness.
But no response to the housingcrisis is complete withoutbuilding
new homes, and history shows us that we will never buildall the
homes we need without the public sector taking a leadingrole. The
Commission plans to develop ideas for the next LabourGovernment to
take forward for long term structural changes toenable 21st Century
home building.
Since its launch in September 2020, the Steering Group
hasbrought together Labour representatives and activists along
withhousing experts from across the country with backgrounds
indifferent tiers of local government with a track record in
councilhomebuilding.
We are really grateful for the co-ordination support from
LHGExecutive member Nick Bragger and LHG Secretary Sheila
Spencerand very pleased that longstanding Labour Housing
Groupmember Steve Hilditch is part of the Steering Group and
leading onthe drafting of the final report.
The plan is to produce a report that describes councils’
currentachievements in building new council homes and identifies
thelimits on their abilities to build more homes, particularly for
socialrent, under the current regime.
It will set out what changes would be necessary to enable
councilsto play a leading role in building the homes we need in the
21stCentury.
We want to understand what the right relationship should
bebetween local and regional tiers of government and how
21stCentury council home building differs from previous
generations.
Over the next few months we will be gathering submissionsfrom
contributors and next spring we will meet as a projectteam to
consider the detailed direction of the report.We plan to report in
September 2021.Rachel Blake, Steering Group Chair
COUNCIL HOMES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
James Murray, MP
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In March 2019 the Government announced that new homeswould not
be permitted to have gas- or-oil-fuelled boilersinstalled from
2025. The main option for alternative heating washeat-pumps, for
which they have set a target of 600,000installations a year by
2028.
Affordability
Although Green Home Grants of up to £10,000 are available
intheory, there are hoops to be jumped through even to
receive£5,000. (A useful guide can be found at
https://tinyurl.com/ghg2021.)
As well as the heat pump itself, there are considerable other
costs.Typically, radiators operate at a much lower temperature
andtherefore need to be larger and/or on for a longer period to
reacha comfortable temperature.Another option is under-floor
heating, but the costof retro-fitting it is high.In either case,
thebuilding as a wholemust be well-insulated.
Won’t there be more“Green jobs”?
This part of the energyindustry in the UK isnot yet
well-developedand most heat pumps aremade abroad, notably in
Japan.
Aren’t there big savings to be made in running costs?
Not if mains gas is available, as the saving over the cost of
theelectricity for powering an air source heat pump is not
significant.
Paul Martin
A HEATED ARGUMENT?
ISSUES FOR LABOUR○ How will this affect Labour’s
pledge to build one million genuinelyaffordable new homes over
10 years?
○ Unless UK manufacturing capacity isgreatly increased, how will
significantlymore “Green jobs” result?
○ How does this technology benefit thosewho live in flats or
terraced houses?
○ Is this the best use ofgovernment subsidies?
WHAT ABOUT JAPAN?Japan has put enormous efforts into
alternativeenergy, due to a lack of oil and gas resources,
thepolluting nature of coal and the devastation of theFukushima
nuclear incident.
Its post-war success has been driven by close co-operation
between Government and industry, stressinginnovation and
collaboration. It is the global leader inthe manufacture of heat
pumps and hasalready achieved 550,000 installations per year.
WHAT IS A HEAT PUMP?It works like an air-conditioning unit in
reverse,using a coolant liquid to moveheat to where it is
required.
There are two main types – airsource and ground source.Both need
electricity topower them.
GREEN HOME GRANTSThe Green Homes Grantvouchers will be available
to:
● All homeowners in owner-occupied homes
● Landlords of private sectordomestic properties
● Landlords of social sectordomestic properties,including
LA-owned homes
● Residential park home-owners
https://tinyurl.com/ghg2021.)https://tinyurl.com/ghg2021.)https://tinyurl.com/ghg2021.)
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In the late 1960's, research into British civilservants showed
that if a person was working in alower-grade role, they were more
likely to havehealth problems - or even die at a younger age.
This held true even if account was taken of all thefactors that
might lead to higher rates of disease, forexample, smoking or being
overweight.
This large-scale study followed a very stablepopulation over
several years. Follow up studiesdrew the same conclusions and a
further study inthe in early 1980s which included women foundthat
they, too, were more likely to have healthissues if working at a
lower grade.
In 2005 the World Health Organisation set up aCommission on
Social Determinants of Healthwhich was led by Professor Marmot.
This wasfollowed up in 2010 by a review of healthinequalities in
England and recently the HealthFoundation has funded a 10 year
follow-upstudy.
What do these studies show?
Being poor is bad for your health, not becauseof the choices you
make but because theissues that you face in daily life are
morelikely to cause health problems.
These alarming statistics show dramatic drops inlife expectancy
in London moving eastwards fromthe wealthy borough of
Westminster.
Years of austerity in social welfare funding haveprobably
reversed the previously rising trend oflife expectancy in England
(which was the focus ofthe study).
All too often, media and politicians talk aboutlifestyle choices
or taking responsibility for one’sown health but Professor Marmot’s
research isclear that this is not about choice.
The data shows that children living in poorerneighbourhoods have
less access to the safe playareas needed for exercise and are also
morelikely to suffer from asthma due to poor housing
HEALTH INEQUALITY IN ENGLANDconditions. The ability to buy
healthy food at anaffordable price and the skills and knowledge
toprepare enjoyable meals are key to having ahealthy diet.
Too often children in care are not taught cookingskills or how
to shop on a budget; no wonder theystruggle when they must fend for
themselves.
We need to give thought as to how to tackle theseproblems and
how a fairer society can ensurepeople’s lives are not blighted by
lack ofopportunity but instead are able to fulfil theirpotential to
live healthily and happily.
Karen Bollan (Fellow of Royal Society of Public Health)
Healthwatch Tower Hamlets
NHS England definition of health inequalities:
“Health inequalities are unfair and avoidabledifferences in
health across the population, andbetween different groups within
society. Healthinequalities arise because of the conditions inwhich
we are born, grow, live, work and age. Theseconditions influence
our opportunities for goodhealth, and how we think, feel and act,
and thisshapes our mental health, physical health
andwellbeing.”https://www.england.nhs.uk/ltphimenu/definitions-for-health-inequalities/
Useful links:
http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/about-us/about-professor-sir-michael-marmothttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-6-social-determinants-of-health
https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_3
https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/the-marmot-review-10-years-on
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241502290
(Housing)
Professor Michael Marmot has led research into health
inequalities for the past 30 years and was PrincipalInvestigator of
the Whitehall Studies which investigated this social gradient in
morbidity (illness) and mortality (death).
https://www.health.org.uk/videos/watch-the-marmot-review-10-years-onhttps://www.health.org.uk/videos/watch-the-marmot-review-10-years-onhttps://www.england.nhs.uk/ltphimenu/definitions-for-health-inequalities/https://www.england.nhs.uk/ltphimenu/definitions-for-health-inequalities/http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/about-us/about-professor-sir-michael-marmothttp://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/about-us/about-professor-sir-michael-marmothttp://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/about-us/about-professor-sir-michael-marmothttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-6-social-determinants-of-healthhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-6-social-determinants-of-healthhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-6-social-determinants-of-healthhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england/chapter-6-social-determinants-of-healthhttps://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_3https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_3https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_3https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/the-marmot-review-10-years-onhttps://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/the-marmot-review-10-years-onhttps://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/the-marmot-review-10-years-onhttps://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241502290https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241502290https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241502290
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BURNING ISSUE - NOTRE DAME CATHEDRALBurning buildings have a
horrible fascination – last year, thousands of Parisians watched
Notre DameCathedral burn for hours. There were casualties among the
firefighters, but fortunately no deaths.
Recent film footage of it on BBC TV under the Storyville banner,
showed the significance of the lossand the bravery of the
firefighters, but in most respects it is yet another tale of
ineptitude in highplaces.
The UK Health and SafetyExecutive says that:
Building owners must carry out afire safety risk assessment.
Theymust keep it up to date andensure that adequate andappropriate
fire safety measuresare in place to minimise the riskof injury or
loss of life in the eventof a fire. They should identifywhat could
cause a fire to startand the people who may be atrisk.
If that had been done in thecase of the Cathedral, it
didn’tappear in the film.
It seems there were no sensorsto warn of overheating in theroof
space which was full ofancient wooden beams andknown as ‘the
forest’.
It didn’t look as though therewas the necessary equipmentto
tackle such an enormousblaze or that there were up-to-date plans
for evacuation.
So it was fortunate that thefire took so long to gain ahold.
Astonishingly, even after thehuge spire had collapsed it
wasdecided to send in 20-40firefighters just to protect thethe
famous facade.
This was despite there being noremaining civilians inside to
berescued.
The main concern seems to have been for holy relics and
arttreasures that were believed to still be inside in a safe,
though thecuratorial staff were unclear where that was located and
initiallylacked the keys.
The film shows the fire chief taking a decision whether to send
inthe firefighters’ - at what looked like appalling risk to
themselves -with President Macron standing next to him.No pressure,
then?
The film is documentary in style and shows, rather than tells,
whathappened. What is revealed is a lack of forethought,
insufficientdetailed, accurate information and inadequate equipment
for aninferno on this scale.
The Cathedral authorities seem completely unprepared for such
anevent and were depending upon heroic firefighters - or perhaps
amiracle - to save their treasures.
It was as though they believed the Cathedral was “too holy
toburn”.
This fire brigade, the Sapeurs Pompier de Paris is part of the
FrenchArmed Forces. Their individual bravery is exemplary but they
areled by Generals whose motto is ‘Save or Perish’ .
Perhaps they should adopt a new one, something more like
‘Plan,prepare and be professional’.
Paul Martin
PS Nothing of this sort could happen here, could it?
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£ APPEAL £ APPEAL £ APPEAL £ APPEAL £If you cannot spare time
and energy, you can stillhelp us in our work by making a donation
by banktransfer to:
“Labour Housing Group”, Account number50478080, Sort code
08-90-06,
Co-operative Bank, PO Box 1AN, Blandford Street,Newcastle, NE99
1AN.
Of course, you can also send a cheque madepayable to “Labour
Housing Group” c/o TheTreasurer, Flat 2, 8 Torrington Park,
LondonN12 9SS
PLEASE QUOTE “LHG2020 CAMPAIGN”
LHG EXECUTIVE 2020LHG's Executive was elected at
the AGM 21st March 2020 for thetwo years to 2022.
Executive members
Andy Bates (co-opted)
Janet Berry
John Bevan
Rachel Blake
Nick Bragger (co-opted)
John Cotton
Ed Derrick
Gerard Heffey (co-opted)
Ross Houston
Heather Johnson
Paul Martin
Amanda Pinnock
Sheila Spencer
Christopher Worrall (co-opted)
WHAT IS THE LABOURHOUSING GROUP?
The Labour Housing Group is alobbying group that is affiliatedto
the Labour Party anddedicated to the developmentof a socialist
housing policy.
You can contact us athttp://labourhousing.org/contact and join
us athttps://labourhousing.org/membership/
Individuals must be membersof the Labour Party and agreeto be
bound by Labour Partyrules and the LHG constitution.
For readers new to housing policy issues,Labour Housing Group
publishes a series of shortguides aimed at a wide readership.
Our six published Briefings on current topicsinclude
Homelessness, Rough Sleeping, AffordableHousing, Private Renting
Sector, Rural Housing andLeasehold Reform.
They can be
foundat:https://labourhousing.org/resources/lhg-briefings/
Forthcoming issueswill cover, Right toBuy, SustainableHomes and
CouncilHomes.
If you would like to contribute, please email ourPolicy Officer,
Paul Martin [email protected].
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily thoseof the Labour
Housing Group.
LHGBriefingLHGBriefingLHGBriefingLHGBriefing
LHGBriefing
BRIEFINGS
https://labourhousing.org/contact/https://labourhousing.org/contact/https://labourhousing.org/membership/https://labourhousing.org/membership/https://labourhousing.org/resources/lhg-briefings/https://labourhousing.org/resources/lhg-briefings/https://labourhousing.org/resources/lhg-briefings/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]