An audit report said that pathfinders working within the government's housing market renewal programme (designed to tackle declining demand for housing in the North and Midlands) needed to improve their understanding of the relationship between affordable housing for rent and other tenures, in the face of low house values.
Source: Housing Market Renewal, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release
Date: 2006-Dec
A discussion paper on housing and the environment examined the pressures on resources created by the expected increase in the number of households. It recommended that the government should educate the public in sustainability, increase investment in sustainable infrastructure, set high environmental standards for all new homes, and provide incentives for householders to invest in sustainable solutions.
Source: Housing Versus the Environment: Can there be only one winner?, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Discussion paper | EEPH press release
Date: 2006-Nov
A collection of essays examined what needed to be done to meet the government s housing targets. It proposed new incentives to address housing shortages in the south, and under-investment in areas of deprivation in the north.
Source: Paul Hackett (ed.), Incentives for Growth, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Oct
A think-tank report examined how to increase housing supply in a way that was socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. The new growth areas should provide homes to new standards of design and environmental sustainability, high-quality local community facilities, and inclusive and cohesive communities where people from different backgrounds shared in the benefits of living in communities of choice.
Source: Jim Bennett with David Hetherington, Max Nathan and Chris Urwin, Would You Live Here? Making the growth areas communities of choice, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Oct
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government responded to a letter from the Prime Minister setting out priorities for her department at the time of her appointment in May 2006.
Source: Letter from Ruth Kelly MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), 12 July 2006
Links: Text of letter
Date: 2006-Jul
The Department for Communities and Local Government (which replaced the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2006) published its annual report for 2005-06.
Source: Annual Report 2006, Cm 6816, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on sustainable housing policy.
Source: Government Response to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Report - Sustainable Housing: A follow-up report, Cm 6893, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report said that there was an overwhelming case for subsidizing only the consumers of housing, and for removing controls and subsidies from the providers. This would empower tenants, provide them with genuine choice, and prevent housing policy from being controlled by supply-side interests.
Source: Peter King, Choice and the End of Social Housing, Institute of Economic Affairs (020 7799 8900)
Links: Report | IEA press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A discussion document set out proposed changes to internal structures and organization at the Department for Communities and Local Government, in line with its new responsibilities. (The DCLG superseded the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2006.)
Source: Building the Department for Communities and Local Government: A discussion document, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Discussion document
Date: 2006-Jun
A good practice guide was published, designed to help private housebuilders and housing associations meet the challenge of developing successful mixed-income communities.
Source: Nick Bailey, Anna Haworth, Tony Manzi, Primali Paranagamage and Marion Roberts, Creating and Sustaining Mixed Income Communities: A good practice guide, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700) for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Guide | JRF press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A briefing paper (from a group opposed to large-scale immigration) said that the government s failure to face up to the consequences of the rise in immigration since 1997 was the principal cause of the housing shortfall. Because the scale of the increase in immigration had not (until very recently) been factored into the house building programme, it had exacerbated housing shortages and created serious issues of affordability that might continue for years.
Source: The Impact of Immigration on Housing Demand, MigrationwatchUK (01869 337007)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jun
The government said that it wanted to see local authorities taking an "increasingly powerful strategic role" on housing across all tenures. It wanted these decisions to be made locally by councils, along with residents and local partners, including arm's-length management organizations and registered social landlords - in particular through local area agreements. It published a discussion document on the issues involved. The latter said that the government expected the social housing building programme to continue to be concentrated through housing associations: but there was a need to look more widely at different ways to lever in additional resources - effectively dropping its previous insistence on linking central funding to transfers of stock to housing associations.
Source: Speech by Ruth Kelly MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), 7 June 2006 | From Decent Homes to Sustainable Communities: A discussion paper, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Text of speech | Discussion paper | DCLG press release | Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jun
An audit report examined 'housing market renewal pathfinders' (partnership-led projects designed to take forward new approaches to tackling low demand and abandonment in parts of England). It recorded a "whole range of ongoing concerns" about the delivery of the market renewal agenda.
Source: Market Renewal: Urban Living, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jun
A briefing paper examined the increasing dominance of home-ownership as a policy aim. It questioned the growing assumption among politicians and policy-makers that increasing home-ownership was key to tackling problems of inequality and social mobility, and argued for a more balanced, cross-tenure approach to addressing the housing crisis.
Source: Catherine Grannum, Home Ownership, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Briefing
Date: 2006-May
The government announced the creation of a new Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), replacing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It included a remit to promote community cohesion (previously under the Home Office) and equality (previously split between various departments), as well as responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, planning, and local government. The Women and Equality Unit moved to the DCLG, which also became the sponsor department for the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. The Prime Minister wrote to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (following a Cabinet reshuffle), setting out policy priorities for her Department.
Source: Press release 5 May 2006, 10 Downing Street (020 7270 1234) | Letter from Tony Blair MP (Prime Minister) to Ruth Kelly MP (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), 9 May 2006
Links: Downing St press release | PM letter
Date: 2006-May
A survey found general support among housing experts for the government?s social housing policies: but they also said that the focus needed to shift from the ?decent homes? programme to the creation of mixed and sustainable communities.
Source: From Decent Homes to Great Places: An independent national survey of public and private sector housing experts and opinion leaders, PricewaterhouseCoopers (020 7583 5000)
Links: Report | PWC press release
Date: 2006-May
An article examined the differences between fair housing law and practice in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Both nations had faced issues associated with the rapid growth of minority populations in urban centres, and challenges associated with discrimination in housing. The USA could learn from the UK experience of `indirect discrimination', and the UK could learn from the USA experience of testing for housing discrimination.
Source: Charles Connerly, 'Fair housing in the US and the UK', Housing Studies, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
A new book examined the operation and impact of the right to buy policy, and the way in which it had reversed the growth in social housing, transformed the nation's tenure structure, and revolutionized the housing system.
Source: Colin Jones and Alan Murie, The Right to Buy, Blackwell Publishing (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
An article examined the use of systematic review methods in housing research. It called for a more thoughtful approach to the method, and more careful consideration of when systematic reviews might be appropriate.
Source: Alison Wallace et al., 'Evidence for policy making: some reflections on the application of systematic reviews to housing research', Housing Studies, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
An article said that housing renewal had a major role to play in economic and social regeneration in areas of council-owned housing. It focused on recent experiences in Wales.
Source: Robert Smith, 'Housing stock transfer: investing in renewal as a tool for sustainable regeneration', Housing Studies, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
A new book examined the major housing problems in contemporary Britain, and the effectiveness of policies designed to tackle them.
Source: Brian Lund, Understanding Housing Policy, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
A new book brought together contributions by leading housing experts who explored a wide range of themes and issues affecting the long-term prospects for housing.
Source: Peter Malpass and Liz Cairncross (eds.), Building on the Past: Visions of housing futures, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
An article examined how problems of community care, anti-social behaviour, ethnic and racial tensions, and the housing of sex offenders were treated in housing and urban policy. It explored how and why the populations of social housing areas disproportionately bore the risks arising from these social problems.
Source: John Flint, 'Maintaining an arm's length? Housing, community governance and the management of problematic populations', Housing Studies, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government's housing plans seemed to ignore the need to put in place support infrastructure first, and did not properly consider environmental issues.
Source: Sustainable Housing: A Follow-up Report, Fifth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 779, House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | ODPM press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
A methodological study highlighted the importance of displacement and associated issues for the housing market renewal pathfinders as they developed and implemented their strategies and monitoring/evaluation frameworks.
Source: Assessing the Impact of Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinder Interventions: Displacement Issues, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
A report examined how best in practice to link strategies in Wales to deliver better homes to those aimed at improving health and regenerating communities.
Source: Alison Clements and Keith Edwards (eds.), GAME ON: Housing at the centre, Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru (029 2076 5760)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
A study found clear indications that high quality, mixed-tenure developments could be delivered successfully. Introducing tenure mix into new developments did not in itself reduce the value or affect the saleability of these developments.
Source: Rob Rowlands, Alan Murie and Andrew Tice, More than Tenure Mix: Developer and purchaser attitudes to new housing estates, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700) for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2006-Mar
The government announced (in the 2006 Budget) a cross-cutting review designed to ensure that appropriate infrastructure would be provided to support housing and population growth.
Source: Budget 2006: A strong and strengthening economy - Investing in Britain s future, Cm 968, HM Treasury, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | HMT press release | SEU press release
Date: 2006-Mar
Two linked reports summarized the outcome of a meeting of specialists and experts on the future of housing policy. The housing system was large and complex, and had became 'increasingly flawed'. The reports called for action to reform the role of taxation in the housing system; address house price volatility; review the effectiveness of housing support systems; increase the range of housing providers; and improve the flexibility of tenure structures.
Source: Diane Diacon, Ben Pattison and Jim Vine, The Future of Housing: Rethinking the UK housing system for the twenty-first century, Building and Social Housing Foundation (01530 510444) | Ben Pattison and Jim Vine (eds.), Perspectives on the Future of Housing: A collection of viewpoints on the UK housing system, Building and Social Housing Foundation
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | BSHF press release
Date: 2006-Jan
A new book described the avoidable policy mistakes in housing made over the previous 50 years that had led to a state of great social and economic inequality, and outlined solutions for the future.
Source: Chris Holmes, A New Vision for Housing, Routledge (01264 343071)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jan
