Future Of Council Housing

EDM number 193 in 2004-05, proposed by Austin Mitchell on 25/11/2004.

That this House supports the proposal from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee for an investment allowance to create a level playing field for council housing and enable local authorities to finance borrowing under the prudential framework to meet the Decent Homes Standard as an alternative to the Government's three current options of stock transfer, private finance initiative and arm's length management organisations; shares the concerns expressed in the critical reports by the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office on the cost-effectiveness of stock transfer; believes that a fourth option, allowing councils to improve their own stock, can be funded by reinvesting all the income from tenants' rents, capital receipts and savings on expensive set-up costs; notes the broad consensus of support from tenants, the Local Government Association and local authorities, the TUC and trade unions for the fourth option; and welcomes the recognition by the Deputy Prime Minister on 26th September that public financing of housing doesn't treat local authorities on a level playing field and I want to see that changed and I promised to do that and look at an inquiry into it; and urges him to stand by this promise so that tenants can have a real choice, councils can compete on a level playing field and the public housing stock can be repaired, refurbished and expanded to make its contribution to the growing need for public rented housing, instead of wasting millions to give it away.

This motion has been signed by a total of 119 MPs.