Council tax changes

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has today published proposals for consultation, heavily trailed in the weekend press, for reforms to council tax that would allow councils to abolish discounts on empty and second homes. Banks or building societies which repossesses an empty home will be liable for the council tax on that property.

Other changes proposed include:

• a right for council tax payers to pay by 12 monthly instalments (currently 10)
• technical changes to allow the provision of statutory information in the tax council demand electronically, to encourage low cost e-billing
• preventing ‘Rent a Roof’ solar photovoltaic installations on domestic properties becoming liable for non-domestic rates.

The government is also considering allowing councils to charge an 'empty homes premium' (a surcharge over and above council tax payable if the property is occupied) on homes vacant for more than two years.

In addition, the consultation asks for views on a change to redress an alleged unfairness to home owners who have in the past converted part of their house as a "granny flat" and now reincorporated it into the family home.

Pickles told the BBC:

 "I want to do more to help everyday families with their cost of living, and protect family homes from tax increases.

"By removing the subsidised tax breaks for empty homes and second homes, we can cut £20 a year off families' council tax bills by treating everyone equally and fairly."

Of the £20 figure, the consultation paper says:

"If authorities choose to operate these new flexibilities to maximise revenue in order to relieve upward on council tax, the value would be equivalent to approximately £20 reduction in the bill for a Band D property (averaged across England)."

It adds a proviso that "in practice, the value will vary considerably between areas, and will of course depend on the discounts actually determined by each billing authority."

The general impression given in the document is that councils are likely to want to retain some discounts. It points out, for instance, the potential hardship to people who have moved home without selling or letting their properties and to developers who have vacant new properties on their books if discounts are abolished. So it is unlikely that the £20 reduction will be achieved in many areas.

The consultation is open for eight weeks until 29 December 2011. The government plans to incorporate the final changes in a finance bill to be brought forward in this session of Parliament.

Social housing - hand up or hand out?

Family Mosaic has published the findings of research it commissioned to look at the likely impact of five year fixed term tenancies.

The research found:

• Of all the tenants who had been living in a Family Mosaic for five years, only 10 per cent would be able to move out of social housing
• This 10 per cent did not currently want to move, as they were satisfied with their home and services, and did not feel stigmatised
• Many of the group would like to own their own home, but feel that current routes to ownership are attractive or unaffordable

Changing direction: Should social housing be a hand up or hand out? concludes that new and more attractive and flexible forms of home ownership are needed, that will allow renters to remain in their homes as their circumstances improve.

The relationship between landlord and tenants on fixed term tenancies will change - the report suggests it should include a time limited personal development plan, to encourage ambition and deter dependency.

Landlords will need help from government to ensure that existing welfare and employment services support these plans.

Even with these changes, the report predicts that the majority of tenants in the sector will need a life-long safety net if they are unable to afford unsubsidised housing. Nevertheless, they could be helped by their landlord to improve their life prospects.

Even though the figure of 10 per cent for tenants able to move on from subsidised housing may seem low, the report points out that, if it were achieved across the sector, it could almost double the number of new homes available as new lets each year. And higher move-on rates, which it suggests might be achievable with new equity share products, would result in even more new lets.

Councils seek to beat HRA debt burden

A number of reports have recently emerged showing how councils can minimise the effects of debts incurred when taking control of their HRA.

On 25 October London Councils considered a research report by Navigant which puts forward a number of options for councils to do on their own or undertake jointly - including:

• Active asset management - such as disposal
• Investment and Service Partnerships - similar to PFI
• Collective or integrated HRA operations
• Headroom trading - with cross borough nominations

The Local Government Chronicle has expanded upon the last point with an article claiming that "tenants 'could be exchanged' for borrowing".

Inside Housing has published an article suggesting that some councils are planning to cut the amount they will owe by demolishing properties. This runs alongside councils such as Swindon, who are going down the stock transfer route to avoid adding debt to the balance sheet.

Public Services (Social Value) Bill

A private members' bill that would require all public bodies to consider the social effects of a service contract passed through its Committee stage last week.

The Public Services (Social Value) Bill is sponsored by Chris White (Conservative, Warwick and Leamington). It would require public bodies contracting for any service to "consider how it might promote or improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of the relevant area" at the pre-procurement stage of a contract where the work specification is finalised and the awarding criteria are set out.

The Bill, was introduced last year as the Public Services (Social Enterprises and Social Value) Bill, and made provision regarding the promotion of social enterprise in a national social enterprise strategy and in local authority sustainable community strategies.

Government amendments made to the Bill during the Committee stage as a condition of its support included the removal of the requirement for the national and local authority strategies, limiting the scope of the Bill only to include public services, (removing contracts for goods and work) and the removal of reference to social enterprises in the title of the Bill.

The Bill is scheduled to have its report stage and third reading on 25 November 2011 before passing to the Lords. Since the Government supports the Bill as amended, it is likely to become law next year.

Critics of the Bill point out that the Best Value duty already requires local authorities to consider value, including social value, on all contracts, services, goods and works throughout the procurement process on contracts of any value, although the Bill would extend to public bodies that are not best value authorities.

The House of Commons Library this week published a useful report on the Bill that sets out the main amendments and areas of discussion during the Committee Stage.

The Guardian held a lively online Q&A on the Bill yesterday, with the Bill's sponsor, Chris White MP taking part.

Launch of national homeswap scheme

The government today launched its promised national home swap scheme 'HomeSwap Direct'.

Four internet-based providers of mutual exchange services have signed up to a membership agreement drawn up by the government, in which they agreed to share information about properties whose tenants are seeking an exchange. New service providers will be able to apply to join the scheme if they offer reciprocal matches.

In new government directions to the social housing regulator, to be published later this year, social landlords will be required from next April to subscribe to a provider who is part of this new national scheme. This will mean that tenants who want to move house will not be restricted in their choice of potential swaps to those registered with the scheme that their landlord joins.

The scheme will cover the whole of the UK.

Tenants organisations greeted the announcement enthusiastically. Michelle Reid of TPAS and Michael Gelling of TAROE said:

"We know many of our tenant members welcome the launch of HomeSwap Direct, as it will make it much easier for them to move to a social home that better suits their needs. For a long time, our tenant members have been asking for it to be made easier for them to move around the country and this scheme will now allow them to do that."

In addition, up to £1 million will be provided to 12 local authority-led mobility demonstration projects who will be testing innovative and cost-effective ways of supporting mobility.

Projects include exploring the savings to landlords of tenants moving through mutual exchange rather than a transfer; exploring whether greater mobility can reduce health and social care costs; and investigating the types of support - such as helplines, or dedicated staff - which can best help tenants through the process of moving.

Supporting People: the high cost of cuts

New research produced jointly by the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) and Circle Housing Group found that 88 per cent of local authorities think cuts to the Supporting People programme will put vulnerable people at risk.

In addition, local authorities say that the costs of helping individuals through Supporting People are actually lower than the overall costs of either withdrawing or reducing support.

The research claims savings to the public purse delivered by Supporting People create knock-on benefits to other agencies. For example, the NHS has lower rates of hospital admissions, and the police reports fewer incidents of anti-social behaviour.

The report calls on national government to prioritise support for local community budgets and calls on councils to recognise the importance of preventative support services and nominate one portfolio holder who moves across service areas.

Councils should also continue to collect outcomes data on housing related support services, to show the benefits and strengthen the case for these services to continue.

Commenting on the likely impact of cuts to Supporting People  on the wider community, Director of Public Health and Vulnerable Communities at the Chartered Institute of Housing Domini Gunn said:

"This is likely to be seen in higher levels of anti-social behaviour, including the risk of harm to vulnerable people, and increased levels of offending behaviour. The future costs to vulnerable people, communities and to the public purse will be high."

Build now or pay later?

Britain needs 250,000 new houses per year for the next 15 years. A new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research presents three new ideas for how are we going to pay for these new homes.

'Build now or pay later? Funding new housing supply' concentrates on three key ideas that the authors think hold particular promise – focused on institutional investment, the role of local authorities and recapitalising public spending in housing – as well as additional proposals around expanding the nascent Green Investment Bank into a true National Investment Bank and reform of the development industry.

The report notes that housing looks low-yield and high-hassle to potential investors. However, it concludes that, with careful product design, these obstacles could be overcome for domestic insurance and pension funds. It argues that local authority pension funds, which currently have assets of £150 billion, offer the best prospect.

A DCLG spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK:

"It is important that public pension schemes are suitably protected against risk, and generate returns to protect the interests of local taxpayers. However, the government is keen to encourage more institutional investment in the housing market, including from all pension funds."

Observing that local government land represents 51 per cent of all publicly held, developable land, IPPR says that they should release their public land to developers in return for an equity stake in development; hold auctions to secure private land for new homes; and adopt a ‘use it or lose it’ approach to privately held land fit for housing, including through the use of more time-limited planning permissions.

Noting the shift of public expenditure on housing in the UK over the last four decades from funding the building of new homes towards subsidising rents for people on low incomes through HB, the authors discuss how this trend might be reversed. They suggest setting a single housing strategy and budget across government; regulating and negotiating with landlords for lower rents and more reinvestment; and wholly devolving public spending on housing to local areas, starting in London.

This paper is the third in IPPR’s series of briefing papers as part of its fundamental review of housing policy. The others are:

• The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: Housing Demand 2025
• Forever Blowing Bubbles?: Housing’s Role in the UK Economy

Localism? Whitehall’s in charge

A new ‘users guide’ to government, published yesterday by the Cabinet Office, appears to show that the concept of localism has yet to reach Whitehall from the DCLG wastelands of Victoria.

The Cabinet Manual’s focus is mainly on central government, but Local Government Chronicle points out that it takes a distinctly centralist view of how central and local government relate to each other. The only page relating to local government in the 107-page document says:

“Local authorities are responsible for their own finances within centrally set parameters and budgets. However, the Government sets the overall level of central government funding for local government in England, and decides expenditure priorities and standards for improvement.”

The document sets out the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of Government. It is described as a user’s guide with the potential to become a useful reference tool for all those with an interest in the workings of Government.

The manual was commissioned by former prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009 and released in draft last March.

John Humphrys' welfare state appraisal

Broadcaster John Humphrys has written an erudite analysis of Britain's welfare state and its apparent tendency to reward the 'evil giant' of idleness - published in the Daily Mail.

Using material from his upcoming BBC2 documentary, Humphrys looks at the relationship British society has with welfare and its seeming inability to provide a safety net whilst making minimum wage work attractive.

The article includes quotes from people who want to work but can't, people happy living on benefits, people who are long-term sick and contrasts them with benefits systems in other countries such as Poland the the USA.

Without drawing too many conclusions, Humphrys points out that it's now up to politicians to convert their concensus about change being needed into hard policies acceptable to the nation.

The documentary, The Future State of Welfare with John Humphrys, was broadcast on 27 October and is available on the BBC iPlayer until 3 November.

It’s getting tougher to challenge government decisions

The official watchdog for complaints - Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) - says the government is making it more difficult for the public to challenge decisions made by the state.

In its report Securing Fairness and Redress: Administrative Justice at Risk? the AJTC expresses concerns about plans that limit access to advice and representation and introduce fees in some jurisidictions.

These changes come on top of already long delays in getting appeals heard. Richard Thomas, chairman of the AJTC, cites the introduction of employment tribunal fees, forcing people to take their housing case to local councillors, and delays in hearing cases.

The Guardian has reported from the launch of the report in which Richard Thomas outlined a number of government tactics to choke off "the demand for redress", which go beyond cuts in legal aid:

• Chancellor George Osborne's announcement this month of a fee for bringing an employment tribunal from 2013. Thomas points out that a family of four going to an immigration tribunal already face a £560 charge.
• Government's plans to force anyone complaining to the Housing Ombudsman to first see their local councillor.
• On social security complaints handling AJTC found that the average time from receipt of appeal by the Department for Work and Pensions to hearing was 29 weeks, or 202 days. The longest time was 60 weeks — 423 days.

The report argues that suppressing demand ignores appeal success rates of around 40%, with hundreds of thousands of governmental decisions over-turned every year. These include around 50,000 successful Employment and Support Allowance appeals, 20,000 successful Disability Living Allowance appeals and 60,000 successful Immigration appeals.

The report sets out an agenda where long-term strategic change in five areas is required to secure the administrative justice system:

• better and more stable laws and regulations, especially in the areas of welfare benefits and immigration
• a ‘Right First Time’ culture in government decision-making
• proper access to help, advice and representation for citizens pursuing redress against government decisions
• further reforms to ensure coherent access to administrative justice across the whole of the UK
• new and proportionate models for resolving disputes faster and in more user-friendly ways.

Richard Thomas said, "It is time for a fresh strategic look at administrative justice across the UK."

"Many of the problems in the system stem from laws and regulations that have become so complex and contradictory that even officials struggle to apply them correctly."

"Constant tinkering by successive governments has left a morass of labyrinthine legislation that serves nobody’s interests. A concerted effort at simplification would reap rewards in better decisions. With faster and more proportionate appeal routes, there is scope for better justice at lower cost."

The AJTC is to be abolished under the government's plans to cut quangos, with the Ministry of Justice taking over the AJTC's responsibilities from April 2012.

Fuel poverty linked to poor health, says report

An interim report on the independent review of fuel poverty has been published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Written by Professor John Hills,  who is director of the centre for analysis of social exclusion at the London School of Economics, the review is investigating how to better define and measure fuel poverty and tackle the underlying problems that lead to it.

'Fuel Poverty: The problem and its measurement' is highly detailed, containing interim findings and issues for consultation from the review of fuel poverty and its measurement.

The report has much to say about probable links between fuel poverty and poor health outcomes. For example, 'The UK has a higher rate of excess winter deaths than other countries with colder climates such as Finland, Sweden and Norway.'

It goes on to observe, 'Recent analysis attributes about a fifth of excess winter deaths to living in cold homes. Even if only half of this in 2009 is due to fuel poverty, that would still mean 2,700 deaths – more than die on the roads – every year. Each of these deaths will be associated with a much greater number of non-fatal health conditions and subsequent demands on the NHS.'

A household is currently said to be 'fuel poor' if it spends more that 10 per cent of its income on heating, and four million households were considered to be facing this problem in 2009.

Hills is suggesting a new definition based on the amount a household would need to spend on energy to reach minimum levels of warmth. If this expenditure would force the household below the official poverty line, defined as 60 per cent of median income, they would then be in fuel poverty.

The Financial Times reports that this would reduce the numbers in official fuel poverty, but that Hill denies that he has been subject to any pressure from the government to come up with a politically expedient conclusion, arguing that his definition more evenly reflects the three drivers of income, energy efficiency and fuel prices.

The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 obliges the government to eradicate fuel poverty “as far as reasonably practicable” by 2016. Under his proposed definition, Hills says that the figures are not on track to achieve this goal.

The review team are now consulting on the interim report, with responses required by 18 November 2011. The final report will be published in early 2012.

Localism Bill completes Report Stage

The Localism Bill which aims to roll out the Government’s localism agenda – has completed the final of seven days of Report Stage in the House of Lords.

On the final day the debate continued with discussion of further amendments to Part 5 of the Bill concerning planning. Proposals to insert new clauses on local development documents and plans, including provisions for affordable housing, were also discussed.

All that remains in the Lords is the Third Reading – a further line by line examination of the Bill - which is scheduled to take place on 31 October 2011. The Bill then returns to the House of Commons to approve the amendments made in the Lords, and may return to the Lords if any amendments are not approved, or more are made. An updated version of the Localism Bill (as Amended on Report) is now available.

The National Housing Federation's website sets out the work it has done to ensure that the Localism Bill effectively assists the important work of housing associations.

New social mobility and housing task force

At an Inside Housing and Chartered Institute of Housing parliamentary reception last night it was announced that crossbench peer Lord Best would chair a new task force on social mobility and housing.

The task force will consist of MPs from across the main parties, and will meet for the next six months before producing a short report. Lord Best said:

"The question is to what extent is housing to blame for problems in society, or can housing be the real solution. My invitation to the parliamentarians who are here tonight is please join me, so we can look at the issue of social mobility in housing."

This comes after House Minister Grant Shapps announced last week a new initiative - ‘home swap direct’ scheme - to improve the mobility of social housing tenants.

Also, speaking at the parliamentary reception Communities Minister Andrew Stunell and Jake Berry, an advisor to Grant Shapps, both stressed the importance of housing to the government’s aims.

They were responding to a joint Housing Report from the CIH, National Housing Federation and Shelter looking at the government’s progress on housing.

Piloting community budgets

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has set out details of how local authority areas can bid to trial two new 'localist' approaches to integrated services.

A Community Budgets prospectus published today sets out the details on how pilots will be selected by the end of the year. Each area will get dedicated support so proposals could be up and running by April 2013.

Sixteen areas, involving 28 local authorities, are already using community budgets as one of the ways to improve how services are provided to troubled families. Building on the current community budget approach, these new arrangements are being introduced by government to provide a greater national push to the programme and to ensure all local areas can deliver better outcomes.

Two areas will be invited to design and run a public service budget programme controlled at 'neighbourhood level'. A further two areas will design and run a 'whole place' or local level programme to test how all public services can be integrated and managed as a single budget within a council boundary or wider city area.

Each pilot will establish devolved budget and policy making structures to secure what the government sees as better co-ordinated, more efficient services for residents.

The closing date for expressions of interest is 10 November 2011.

Government failing to deliver on housing promises

The government is failing to deliver on its promises to boost housing supply and protect the vulnerable, the National Housing Federation, Shelter and Chartered Institute of Housing have warned.

The joint Housing Report, the first of its kind, sets out what ministers and officials said they would do to tackle the housing crisis - and assesses to what extent they have achieved their stated objectives.

It rates the government’s direction of travel under ten main headings using a traffic light system – green for going forward, amber for no progress and red where things are getting worse.

In the first edition of the report, the government receives four red lights – on housing supply, homelessness, help with housing costs and affordability of the private rented sector.

It is allocated three amber lights, on planning, evictions and home ownership, and two green lights, on empty homes and mobility within the social sector. The section on overcrowding has been left without an indicator in the absence of any recent data.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation said:

"It is clear from the first edition of The Housing Report that much more needs to be done in order to resolve this country’s dire housing crisis. With the number of new homes being built at a record low and more people reliant on housing benefit to find a place to live, it is time for ministers to show their words will be backed up by actions and results."

Grainia Long, Chartered Institute of Housing interim chief executive, said:

"We've heard David Cameron make explicit commitments about a housing revolution. We all know something big needs to change if we are to tackle this country’s extreme housing challenges head on. By producing this Housing Report we can see that, eighteen months into a new government, there is still a lot to do to turn aspirations into reality on the ground."

In conclusion the Report says the government needs to do more if it wants to meet its own commitments on housing and suggests that a rethink may be required to correct the direction of policy before things drift off course.

It hopes that the recent government announcements on housing supply and the Right to Buy, and the commitment to publish a housing strategy, are a signal that such a rethink is already underway.

Families at breaking point

A year on from the Coalition Government's Spending Review, which set out public spending plans for four years in October 2010, Action for Children has launched the results of a year-long investigation into the social and financial costs of spending decisions that were made.

The charity conducted research with over 200 of its frontline managers: social care professionals working daily with over 80,000 of the most vulnerable and neglected children, young people and families in communities across the UK.

The findings have been published in its first annual Red Book. In the last three months, the charity says 48% of its frontline services have reported a 'marked rise' in the number of children, young people and families needing a service but unable to access one:

• At least 5,000 vulnerable children, young people and families have been identified as needing the services it provides but are currently not receiving a service.

• Over half of frontline services have reported supporting children and young people (51%) and families (52%) with more severe problems, compared to six months ago. 

• Managers believe that demand for their services has risen because of an increase in family breakdown (41%), parental mental health/physical health issues (39%), reduction in other community services such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (38%), reduction in household income because of unemployment (26%) and benefit reduction (22%).

 Dame Clare Tickell, Chief Executive of Action for Children, said:

"We are at a tipping point. The Government must take this opportunity to take stock and ensure that their stated intentions to protect the lives of the most vulnerable children, and the measures taken subsequently, are enough."

Action for Children is calling for the government to provide sufficient provision of local early intervention services for children, young people and families, introducing a new duty on local authorities and statutory partners to provide such services.

Shapps won't cap private sector rents

Shelter has published research examining the rapid growth of the private rented sector and focussing on its affordability.

The report says, 'Growth of this magnitude has not been seen in a housing tenure since the post-war rise in social housing'.

Despite this, the report suggests that 55 per cent of English local authority areas have private rents costing over 35 per cent of median take home pay - a level which, according to previous studies, is likely to be unaffordable.

A selection of findings:

• The highest average private rent for a two-bedroom home in England is found in Kensington and Chelsea (£2,714 per month), with the lowest (£394 per month) in Burnley.
  
  
• Extremely high rents are almost exclusively found in London and areas close to London with good commuter links – the average private rent for a two bedroom home in London (£1,360 per month) is nearly two and a half times the average in other regions (£568).
  
  
• The geographic distribution of rent levels is an almost perfect ripple effect out from central London – the further away from the capital, the lower the average rent is likely to be. The few exceptions to this are Manchester, York and Harrogate where average rents are on a par with those seen in the South East and East of England.

Shelter's report quickly grabbed the BBC's attention, prompting a response from Housing Minister Grant Shapps who refuses to cap private sector rents, claiming that the only way to solve the current housing crisis is to build more homes. Talking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme Shapps said:

"On this private rented sector issue a lot of people say why don't you cap rents? I'm convinced that's a bad thing to do. When rents were capped the private rented sector shrunk from over half of all housing to just 8 per cent by the time the caps were released. So I don't think that's the answer. But building more homes is."

Shapps claims that the Government's plans to revitalise Right to Buy, hand over Government land to developers and reform the planning system will create 200,000 new homes.

Co-operative Housing Tenure Bill

Jonathan Reynolds MP (Stalybridge and Hyde, Labour/Co-operative Party) yesterday introduced a Private Member's Bill that seeks to establish a new form of tenure for residents of homes owned by co-operatives. Currently such tenancies are governed by general landlord and tenant law, which precludes members of the co-op from making their own rules on, for instance, repairs and maintenance responsibility.

Reynolds told the Commons:

"The Bill that I am presenting today would provide for a modest but important change in the law that would allow real co-operative housing to exist and flourish. In doing so, it would provide a significant boost to investment in housing co-operatives, increasing the supply and quality of homes in this country."

The Bill, initiated by the Co-operative Party, is scheduled for a second reading on 20 January 2012, but is unlikely to progress further without government support. The Co-operative Party has launched on online petition where people can express their support for the aims of the Bill.

Rising poverty, falling incomes

A report published by financial think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), predicts rising poverty and falling incomes, claiming that by 2013 there will be 3.1 million UK children living in absolute poverty.

The report covers child and working-age poverty between 2010 to 2020, using two of the four measures defined in the Child Poverty Act (2010):

1. Relative low income - children in households below 60 per cent of median income.
2. Absolute low income - children in households below 60 per cent of 2010/11 median income up rated in line with inflation.

Report findings

• Absolute poverty is forecast to rise by about 600,000 children and 800,000 working-age adults.
  
• The net direct effect of the government's tax and benefit changes is to increase both absolute and relative poverty, offsetting any reductions created by the introduction of Universal Credit.
  
• Absolute and relative child poverty are forecast to be 23 per cent and 24 per cent in 2020–21 respectively, comparing to the targets of 5 per cent and 10 per cent set out in the Child Poverty Act (2010) and passed with cross-party support.
  

It is important to realise that the Child Poverty Act imposes legally binding targets on central government to deal with this issue, but a UK Parliament guide to the Act says:

'Legislation introducing binding targets for governments is a relatively recent phenomenon in the United Kingdom, and there is considerable uncertainty about what difference it actually makes, and whether it offers an effective mechanism for holding governments to account.'

One of the report's authors James Browne said, "Even if there were an immense increase in the resources made available, it is hard to see how child poverty could fall by enough to hit this supposedly legally binding target in just nine years."

Responding to the IFS's forecast, Barnardo's chief executive Anne Marie Carrie said, "The projected figures for child poverty revealed today are a tragedy." However, the BBC also quotes  a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson who claims benefit changes will tackle poverty by, "making work pay."

Coalition consults on local government pensions

The government has published a formal consultation on short-term changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (‘LGPS’) from 1 April 2012 in an attempt to save £900m by 2014-15.

From April 2015, the government intends to introduce wholesale changes to the LGPS, which it claims will be in line with the recommendations made by the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission’s report published in March 2011 (the Hutton review).

Lord Hutton identified three reasons why changes were needed to the LGPS:

• people are living much longer than previous generations
• as people are living longer in retirement, the cost of providing pensions is increasing
• taxpayers can’t be expected to bear all the cost of increased longevity

The Treasury’s original proposal for short-term changes have been amended. Instead of achieving the whole of the savings target by increasing employee contribution rates, DCLG is suggesting realising half (or, optionally, a third) of the savings through a smaller average increase in contributions. The remaining savings would come from a change to the accrual rate from April 2013, producing smaller benefits when staff retire.

Under the government's proposals, lower paid workers would face no increase in contributions, whereas higher paid workers could be required to pay up to an additional 5 per cent of their salary towards their pension (before tax relief).

The Local Government Group has produced an alternative proposal, included in the consultation document, that consists of an increase to the normal pension age to 66, and a member choice of an increased contribution rate or a change in the scheme’s accrual rate. 

Local Government Minister Bob Neill said:

"Today's pension proposals set out a way to save £900 million over the next three years that protects low earners from excessive increases - those who earn less will be asked to pay in less than high earners in the Scheme.

"We will continue to engage with local government and trade unions throughout the consultation as they have a key role to play. We hope all parties will take the time to consider these proposals in a constructive manner."

However, Brian Strutton of the GMB trade union described the local government proposals as a "shabby piece of work" that would lead to thousands of staff opting out. He told the BBC:

"In the face of this onslaught, workers will leave the scheme and put its funding at risk.

"Although there may be scope for negotiations to continue, the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has given no cause for GMB to call off our industrial action ballot, which is planned to start on 31 October."

Welfare Action Week

The National Housing Federation (NHF) is inviting social landlords to join them for its Welfare Action Week: a campaign to stop the Government's proposed welfare reforms.

The Federation is concerned that changes to housing benefit will force thousands of social housing tenants into hardship or homelessness, and their campaign, which runs between 10-16 October, includes a schedule of themed Action Days.

The NHF has produced an 'Actions and ideas pack', to help landlords choose from appropriate activities, and it is encouraging organisations to email the Minister for Welfare Reform using its online e-form.

Writing on his blog, the NHF's Chief Executive David Orr said the reforms, 'will be bad for families, bad for disabled people, bad for communities, bad for children. We’ve heard a lot from the Government about the ways in which some welfare benefits are ‘not fair’. If ever there were changes that are really not fair, these are they. We can’t afford to allow them.'

Benn to shadow Pickles in Milliband reshuffle

Hilary Benn will be facing Eric Pickles at the dispatch box after his appointment as Communities and Local Government Secretary in Labour Leader Ed Milliband's shadow cabinet reshuffle. Benn replaces Caroline Flint who moves to the energy and climate change portfolio.

MP for Leeds Central since 1999, Benn has held government posts of International Development Secretary, Minister in the Home Office and Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Before joining parliament, Benn was a member of Ealing Council, serving as Chair of the Education Committee and Deputy Leader of the Council. He worked in research role in the trade union movement, rising the be Head of Research at Manufacturing, Science, Finance - now part of Unite. He is the second son of veteran Labour politician Tony Benn.

Six members of the 2010 parliamentary intake join the 27-strong shadow cabinet, which now has an average age of 48 and includes 11 women. It is the first shadow cabinet appointed since Milliband abandoned the tradition that shadow cabinet members are elected by their fellow Labour MPs.

Former Housing Minister John Healey has left the opposition front benches, and Alison Seabeck has lost the housing brief she previously held, becoming Shadow Defence Minister. Seabeck told 24dash that the housing review she was working on with Caroline Flint has already been submitted to Miliband.

Seabeck is replaced by Jack Dromey. Dromey is MP for Birmingham Erdington, entering parliament in 2010 after a career of more than three decades in the trade union movement.

The husband of Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman, Dromey was a member of the policy forum that produced Labour's 2007 Green Paper ‘Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable’ in 2007. He is also a supporter of the pressure group Defend Council Housing.

The full shadow communities and local government team is:

Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
Jack Dromey MP
Helen Jones MP
Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
Chris Williamson MP
Lord (Bill) McKenzie
Lord (Sir Jeremy) Beecham

Shapps releases brownfield boxed set

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has published a compilation of Government initiatives to build on publicly owned brownfield sites as a single report.

Accelerating the release of public sector land provides an overview of the work that has already been done, and outlines how the Government is and will continue to support and facilitate the accelerated release of surplus formerly used public land. It also sets out proposals for taking the next phase of work forward to further increase land supply and support the delivery of much needed homes that the country needs.

Included in the report are an update, overview and/or next steps for:

• the Plan for Growth, published in March 2011
• plans to release public land, announced in June 2011
• the draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation, which closes on 17 October
• Planning performance agreements research commissioned in 2010
• the Homes and Communities Agency’s on-line tools and specialist services to help speed up land release
• the Advisory Team for Large Applications at the Homes and Communities Agency
• Greater transparency, such as the Community Right to Reclaim Land

Alongside the report is a demo version of Public Sector Assets in England. This website helps potential developers locate and identify information on public sector assets.

There is also a press release confirming that the government is 'on track to provide land for 100,000 new homes'.

£860m renewable energy scheme faces setback

The Government's green energy agenda suffered a setback on Friday when its flagship Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was stymied by the European commission, who refused to endorse the scheme's large biomass tariff, which subsidises bigger power generation plants.

The Government introduced the RHI on 10 March 2011 as a financial incentive for renewable heat production, to help the UK reduce its carbon emissions and meet EU sustainable energy targets.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) planned to open the scheme for applications on 30 September 2011, stated:

'Changing the large biomass tariff will require the RHI regulations to be amended and submitted to Parliament for approval. We are unable to launch the scheme as a whole until this process has been completed.'

According to the Guardian, the RHI's postponment has caused consternation in the renewable energy sector. They quote William Worsley, president of the Country Land and Business Association, who said:

"Many members have been gearing up to launch projects... while others have already taken the plunge and will face cash flow problems as a direct result of the commission's intervention."

DECC officials claim the scheme will go live again by November 2011, but Paul Thompson, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association (REA) said:

"As heat demand is seasonal, delaying until the end of November will mean many customers will either put off a decision until next winter or buy a new fossil fuel boiler now – locking them in to higher-carbon heat for years to come."

DECC plan to implement the RHI in two phases, initially targeting it at the non-domestic sector. The second phase will see it expanded to include a wider range of renewable energy technologies, including support for households. The Government wants to align this transition with its Green Deal, which it hopes to introduce in autumn 2012.

The energy regulator, OFGEM, has published Frequently Asked Questions about the scheme's delay.

Conservatives' Right to Buy revival

Against the backdrop of this year's Conservative party conference, David Cameron has announced a 'revival' of the Right to Buy scheme.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, Mr Cameron said: "Let's bring back the Right to Buy your council house, with proper discounts that Labour got rid of....let's use that money to build homes for rent, for low rents for families that are currently stuck on housing lists."

Housing minister Grant Shapps joined in the announcement with an interview published by Inside Housing. He pledged that there would be no net loss of housing as Affordable Rent homes are built to replace Right to Buy sales. Mr Shapps added that the revamped "policy would have no impact on the deal that has been struck with local authorities to reform the housing revenue account system."

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published a question and answer guide, stating that:

• The proposals affect the Right to Buy and the Preserved Right to Buy, but not the Right to Acquire.
• Every additional pound generated by the sales will be invested in paying down the debt associated with that property and on building new housing for Affordable Rent.
• Increasing the Right to Buy discount will require secondary legislation and a consultation.
• More detail on the proposals will be provided in the Housing Strategy (which is due to be published in November).

The National Housing Federation has responded to the announcement, saying that there must be a cast iron guarantee that sold homes will be replaced.

Conservatives at Wandsworth Council have published plans to use Right to Buy receipts to help first time buyers become home owners by putting down a deposit of up to £50,000.