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Labour scraps previous government’s ‘British workers’ social housing allocation plan
The Labour government will not enact former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to favour UK nationals when allocating social housing.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that the previous Conservative government’s plans are off the table.
Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch had posed a written question to the government asking when it would respond to January’s consultation on the plans.
Mr Pennycook replied that the government “does not intend to enact the policy proposals set out in the consultation”. A formal response will be issued in due course, he added.
Mr Sunak’s plans were dubbed ‘British homes for British workers’ after they were reported in January.
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What followed was a government consultation outlining the six new tests, which closed on 26 March.
It proposed six new tests to determine whether people qualify for social housing. They include a UK connection, a local connection, an income test, an anti-social behaviour (ASB) test, a terrorism test and a false statement test.
MPs expressed concerns with the scheme in April. Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said there were “understandable concerns” that the qualification tests risked pushing people into homelessness.
Mr Betts had also asked if there would be exemptions for the ASB test for people with disabilities or survivors of domestic abuse.
Under current rules, local housing authorities are meant to decide social housing allocation based on need, giving priority to those who are homeless, or living in overcrowded or poor conditions.
Refugees are allowed to claim social housing, but anyone who is not entitled to benefits is not, meaning most foreigners in the UK are already excluded. The latest government figures showed that 90% of the lead tenants in social housing are British citizens.
Housing sector bodies and charities hit out at the plans when they were first reported in January, with Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, describing the proposals as “scapegoating at its worst”.
In a letter to the then-prime minister and housing secretary, 17 housing sector bodies said that the plans would amount to “further rationing of an already scarce resource” that would not address the housing shortage and the net loss of social rented homes since 2011.
Signatories include the Chartered Institute of Housing, the National Housing Federation and PlaceShapers.
Noting that 90% of new social housing lettings already go to UK nationals, the organisations argued that “imposing extended qualification periods” before people can even get on the housing register is “likely to force more people into homelessness”.
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