Housing policy: Lib Dems secure £300m for affordable homes
Time to put my blogging where my mouth is about today’s announcements.
So having complained:
Housing news today classic case of Tory headline policy with significant Lib Dem changes to details. Will party's comms get that over?
— Mark Pack (@markpack) September 6, 2012
Here’s a graphic about the money secured by the Liberal Democrats to build 15,000 more affordable homes and bring 5,000 empty ones into use, just one of the Lib Dem achievements in coalition:
For more details of the announcements, see the official news release – which includes:
- New legislation for Government guarantees of up to £40 billion worth of major infrastructure projects and up to £10 billion of new homes. The Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill will include guaranteeing the debt of Housing Associations and private sector developers.
- Up to 15,000 affordable homes and bring 5,000 empty homes back into use using new capital funding of £300m and the infrastructure guarantee.
- An additional 5,000 homes built for rent at market rates in line with proposals outlined in Sir Adrian Montague’s report to Government on boosting the private rented sector.
- 16,500 first-time buyers helped with a £280m extension of the successful ‘FirstBuy’ scheme, which offers aspiring homeowners a much-needed deposit and a crucial first step on the housing ladder.
Well done, Mark, on finding the aspects Lib Dems can be proud of (well, your first two bullets, certainly). But such are the complexities of coalition that aspects of today's package are thoroughly disagreeable. More detailed analysis on its way to you shortly… if the estimable LibDem Voice can find room to share it with others! Mike – sometime London housing spokesperson – Tuffrey.
That'd be great – look forward to hearing your views in more detail.
Agree Mike – would also be interesting to hear your views