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Gove to meet UK island leaders to discuss housing
Housing secretary Michael Gove will meet leaders of the UK’s islands next week to talk about housing delivery.
Council leaders and chief executives of island communities across the UK have been invited to a summit on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales on 7 to 8 May.
The agenda will focus on housing, including tackling housing shortages and putting vacant properties back into use.
Devolved governments will also have a key role, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.
Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland Executive have been invited, as well as Anglesey MP Virginia Crosbie.
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UK levelling-up minister Jacob Young, who last week finished steering the Renters (Reform) Bill through the House of Commons, will also attend.
The aim of the forum is to encourage collaboration on common challenges such as skills, connectivity and infrastructure, as well as explore shared opportunities including the transition to net zero.
It will also enable the UK government to hear and learn from island communities to inform future policy.
The meeting will be the fourth government islands forum, following sessions on Orkney, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Lewis.
Officials will offer an update on previous work of the forum, including improving physical and digital connectivity for island communities.
Mr Gove said islands are “distinct and vital parts of the United Kingdom”.
He said: “This is an opportunity to hear from islands about their unique housing challenges and to learn more about how they are tackling them in a pioneering and dynamic way.”
Llinos Medi, leader of Isle of Anglesey County Council, said the isle is currently facing a housing crisis, with homelessness “rising sharply of late” and many residents unable to afford a home.
She added: “I look forward to learning from forum colleagues and sharing our own good practice as we provide affordable quality homes in our communities.”
In March, Mr Gove told Inside Housing he was in conversations with landowners about increasing the supply of social rent homes within their forthcoming developments.
In October, the Scottish government published an action plan to tackle empty homes and support the development of new homes in island communities.
Last year, Inside Housing interviewed Jersey housing minister David Warr, who has vowed to push through legislation to cap rent increases and introduce open-ended tenancies.
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