Maidstone Weald Labour Party

The West branch continues it's important campaign on social housing.

The Chart shows clearly the ongoing situation of reduced completions and the almost total removal of Local authorities from the production of new houses for social purposes. Leslie Turner continues this theme:

"And the issue today of the 'Independent review of regulation of social housing' at the 'Cavereview@communities.gov.uk/cave review' gives some glimpses of the Government intention in regard to social housing as for instance para. 19 says (inter alia) 'The government seeks to minimise the level of public sector finance provided to housing associations for new supply of social housing, .......' (does that mean 'keep to a low level'? ) And at para 22 : "The purpose of the review is to find the best option for regulation, recognising that it is unlikely ever to be a perfect substitute for an efficiently functioning market..." : that seems to say that even past governments' successes in the supply of social houses failed, but history shows clearly that they did indeed supplant the market in low-cost affordable social houses and it was the failure of the market which did not function for that purpose.

May I, in the hope that you will publish this in the local Labour Blog, draw attention of members to the Early Day Motion No 136 put down on 16 Nov 06 and signed in the House of Commons by over 80 MPs including some 57 Labour entitled /*'Funding Decent Council Housing' ; */which welcomes the decision of the last Labour Party Conference to call on the Government to provide the fourth option of direct investment in council housing as a matttter if growing urgency.....' and goes on for another 18 lines to explain how it can be done '..without major government spending..' This could also form the substance of a part of any new leafletting in the areas where there are council/housing association households as it now looks as if the latest generation of young familied people are often stuck at home, or overcrowded in them, and it might give them some hope next May!"