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Social Housing Green Paper expected by recess
The Social Housing Green Paper is still expected to be published before parliament breaks up for summer recess either next Tuesday or on Thursday this week, the government has confirmed.
There had been speculation that the paper might be subject to further delays after a new housing minister was appointed last week.
However, this week the government confirmed it still intended to publish before recess, which is scheduled for next Tuesday.
It could however be brought forward to Thursday in a vote later today. It is not clear whether this would effect the planned publication of the green paper.
Dominic Raab was promoted to Brexit secretary following David Davis’ resignation last Monday and replaced as housing minister by Kit Malthouse.
Mr Malthouse is now the third housing minister to occupy the role since the government announced the green paper in September.
When Mr Raab took up the housing brief in January, replacing Alok Sharma, the government committed to publishing the Social Housing Green Paper “in spring 2018”.
Last month, housing secretary James Brokenshire – who also came to post midway through the preparation of the document – told parliament it would be published “by recess”, which starts on 24 July.
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Before leaving his post, Mr Raab said the green paper would include measures to “strengthen the role of the regulator, to give it more teeth” and “also to empower residents as consumers and give them the voice and ability to hold landlords to account”.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) told Inside Housing that the department is still expecting to publish before MPs rise.
The summer recess begins next Tuesday (24 July).
Currently, there is space in the parliamentary calendar for the four remaining days of the term on Monday afternoon, when questions for the MHCLG are followed by a ‘general debate’ on an unannounced topic.
Comment: what can we expect from the Green Paper?
So what might we expect of a green paper in 2017 or 2018?
The first and most obvious observation is that housing policy is a long-term pursuit, which implies that a period of political stability is required to see the proposals implemented in full.
Second, the proposals themselves benefit from a sound base in evidence.
Third, the evidence has to drive the emphasis, which has changed dramatically since 2007.
“The proposals will have to confront thorny issues around landbanking and greater intervention to boost housing supply and may not be universally welcome.”
The announcement of a first Social Housing Green Paper from a Conservative government must be welcome, even if the political environment in which it will land is highly uncertain.
The Housing White Paper, titled Fixing our broken housing market, highlighted the serious problem for a party committed to a free market.
Ms May’s speech to the party conference in October and the announcement of a five-year rent settlement from April 2020 of CPI+1% provided hope that there will be some muscle behind the proposals.
This was further boosted by the decision to reverse the plan to cap social housing rents to prevailing Local Housing Allowance rates from 2019 as had been expected from.
However, the recognition that there is a housing crisis, particularly among younger people, almost certainly means that to succeed, the proposals will have to confront thorny issues around landbanking and greater intervention to boost housing supply and hence may not be universally welcome.
Housing practitioners must look forward to the opportunity to influence housing policy. This arises only every 10 years and demands carefully crafted responses. Be prepared!
Mervyn Jones, director, Savills Housing Consultancy
This comment first appeared as part of a longer article published on 13 November 2017
