LIB DEMS AND LGA RESPOND TO SCRAPPING OF HOUSING BORROWING CAP

Just two weeks after the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton called for the removal of the cap on local authority borrowing the Prime Minister announced that the housing revenue account borrowing cap will be scrapped.

Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said

We are pleased to see the Prime Minister finally lift the borrowing cap on councils so they can build houses, a policy I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues pushed for in coalition.

The Conservatives' long-held resistance to this sensible, pragmatic policy has only deepened the housing crisis."

LGA Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes added:

"Finally the Government has accepted the long standing call put forward by both the Liberal Democrats and the LGA that the housing borrowing cap should be scrapped. Councils have a key role to play in providing new homes for genuinely affordable rent and this will help them to do this. Our national housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues we face and increasing the provision of socially rented and affordable housing is an important part of solving the housing crisis."

At the recent Liberal Democrat conference members passed a motion calling for the Government to ensure everyone has a right to affordable, safe and secure homes in England.

The motion included a commitment to build at least 50,000 new social homes for rent every year, as part of the long-standing commitment of the Liberal Democrats to build 300,000 homes a year over the next decade.

It also called for the removal of the cap on local authority borrowing, better environmental standards for housing, to reduce both fuel poverty and greenhouse gas emissions, and to deliver more security for tenants in the private rented sector through increasing landlords' notice period from 2 months to 6 months and an expansion of the 'rent to buy' scheme.

The creation of a British Housing Company which would acquire unused land for building through compulsory acquisition was also incorporated into the motion.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said

"Radical action must be taken to ensure people have the right to live in an affordable and secure home. With our country in the midst of a housing crisis and homelessness at a record high, the Government's inaction is a dereliction of duty

"If we are to truly tackle the housing crisis, we must embark on a large programme to rebuild our social housing stock. We must also alleviate the insecurity faced by many tenants in the private rented sector such as through giving tenants a minimum of six months' notice before they have to leave the property'.

Source ALDC

Liberal Democrat Conference Brighton

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