Today Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
introduced the Housing White
Paper to Parliament and set out the Government’s housing strategy
for England. This is a statement from Jo Miller, Solace President
and Chief Executive of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, in
response:
“Solace welcomes the publication of the White Paper which
addresses some of the key issues that we identified in our
Housing Policy Paper, particularly around the need to build
enough homes, at the right time and for the right price. We are
aware there is a pipeline of developments with planning
permissions which are not being implemented and we therefore
welcome measures which would support Local Authorities in working
with developers to start building much needed homes.”
“Local Authorities have a key role in driving the creation and
growth of places; the quality and affordability of housing
underpins prosperity and is essential to creating resilient and
sustainable communities. The Government’s recognition of the need
to focus on a wider range of housing solutions, and particularly
the measures aimed to help to deliver more homes for affordable
rent, is a great step forward.”
“Local Authorities are best placed to meet the national housing
challenge and it is vital that they are given the powers and
appropriate long-term funding streams to deliver homes that meet
the needs of their local areas. Local Authorities need to be
given more powers and flexibilities to be able to invest in
housing, for instance through the retention of 100 per cent of
receipts from the sale of their assets, which would enable
reinvestment and the building of more affordable homes.”
“Solace will continue to work with the Government and partners to
progress discussions across the sector and we will respond more
fully to the White Paper proposals in due course.”