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John Healey |
Minister’s silence on council homes sell-off
HOUSING Minister John Healey has refused to say whether his department will put a stop to the sale of Camden’s council housing stock or provide urgently needed cash for repairs following the Prime Minister’s election-week hint that money could be available.
The Town Hall is controversially selling off up to 500 homes to raise £283million needed to bring the rest of its properties up to the government’s Decent Homes standard.
With the next auction of council houses due on July 6 – this time featuring four large family houses of the type most needed – a spokeswoman for the Housing Minister said: “It is up to Camden as to how they manage their stock and the Decent Homes programme.”
Last week, the New Journal wrote to the minister to ask for a definitive answer after
Gordon Brown said the council should apply to the government for funds – on the eve of the European elections.
The minister’s press official said Mr Healey would respond in full when a review of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – the pot into which all council rent is paid nationally – is complete in the next few weeks.
“He is due to make a major announcement about the HRA, and that will have implications for Camden,” she said.
Meric Apak, chairman of the Camden Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations, said: “For Mr Healey to say he will not answer is simply not satisfactory and he just cannot hide behind the HRA Review to be announced imminently. Every council home sold in Camden means an extra family is homeless which is an additional burden on taxpayers. If he thinks we will simply go away and forget about this, he needs to think again.” |
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