Live webchat with Grant Shapps, local government and housing minister, Tues 7 Dec, 2.30pm - 3.30pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

We're very pleased that our webchat guest on Tues 7 Dec is local government and housing minister Grant Shapps. He has recently been in the news over homeowners' rights and the government's social housing policy.

On Mon 6 Dec, he's setting out how the government intends to put more power into the hands of local councillors. Part of this is that the govt wants to encourage women, particularly mothers of school-age children, to consider becoming councillors. Grant would like to know what you think about becoming a local councillor? Are there any obstacles to you doing so? If you're already a councillor, what are your experiences, and what do you think are the opportunities for women in local government?

Grant is the MP for Welwyn Hatfield, he's married with three children - a boy aged nine and six-year-old twins.

Hope you can join him on Tues, 1.30pm-2.30pm. But if you can't and you have a question or comment, please post it here.

@superv1xen

ok. now i have calmed down a bit

first things first. -applauds domesticslattern for her fab question-

right. now for my questions.

can you PROMISE existing council/housing association tenants that the proposed changes to local authority tenants will NOT affect us?

and what can we expect the household income before familes are kicked out told to find a private rented property is going to be set at?

are you going to do anything to help mere mortals on or just above the minimum wage get on the property ladder so we do not have to spend our whole lives moving our families around insecure, substandard and overpriced rented accomodation.

and, speaking of landlords, is anything going to be put in place to stop them charging extortionate amounts to rent out their aforementioned "properties" ?
you know, just so half the country don't spend their whole lives on housing benefit.

Hi Superv1xen, if I can answer the last point first. The current system of tenancies was introduced in order to encourage landlords to put their properties onto the rental market, by enabling them to charge market rents and regain possession when they needed it. If rents were capped landlords may be reluctant to let their properties, leading to less accommodation being available for rent, which would not help landlords or tenants. There are, however, safeguards in place to protect tenants from excessive charges. If a tenant considers that their rent is significantly higher than the rents for comparable tenancies they can ask for the rent to be referred to the rent assessment committee for a determination, which becomes the maximum the landlord can charge.

In answer to your question about changes affecting current LA tenants, we have made a firm promise that current LA tenants will not be affected by proposed changes. In fact these changes are nothing whatsoever to do with existing tenants. And nor will they be in the future.

Income is not the only factor that an individual landlord will consider when deciding whether or not to reissue a tenancy, that decision will be based on the particular circumstances of the tenant. Central government is not setting a level of income above which you won't qualify for a social home - this is set at a local level.

I should mention that the new Affordable Rent that we're introducing is designed to provide far more flexibility over the homes available for different types of people on the social housing waiting list.

150 000 houses. Does not sound like a lot when there are many times that in substandard houses and flats.

Drop and ocean come to mind.

Sorry, Grant. I'm clearly not adept at this copy and paste lark. There's only one of me here...

No, we don't think only the state should look after people. Which is why you'll find so many people on this boards are also carers. They know much more about that than you or I do. And why I was so dismayed to see my council asking me to place care for disabled children, care for the elderly, adoption and fostering and children's services in a list that also contained recycling, pavements and gritting.

Where, Grant? Do you really think this concept is as applicable to social care as it is to conservation & heritage? Really Can you not see any problems with this?

No, Grant. Local elections and campaigns allow us to do this. In the meantime, as a working mother, I was under the impression that in return for a proportion of my taxes, my local council take care of the vulnerable in my community, seeing as I have to work and all.

I am also unqualified to work in areas I would perhaps be inclined to volunteer in, if I was to have more time on my hands by eg being made redundant. Will the council fund my training? Or is it fine for me to be unskilled?

I don't want to see change, Grant. I want to see my local services maintained and the vulnerable protected. Something that won't happen if the current settlement for local councils goes ahead.

And is the aide who is helping you the one who wrote that cringe-inducing message from you last night? I do hope not.

Hello Grant, with your coming changes to the way planning is judged (rural shift to referendum-based decision making) do you anticipate an increase in new homes in the green belt?
Cheers

When the cap is introduced, people will lose their homes. Private landlords, eagerly welcomed by Thatcher to replace social housing, will return to private tenants as, particularly in London, the LHA will be significantly LESS than market rents.

@domesticslattern

Thank you for coming on MN.

Can I ask a question which will sound a bit rude, but it is not really meant to.

The papers report that you are a millionaire with your own plane.
You report to a Cabinet in which 23 out of 29 members are reported to have assets and investments estimated to be worth more than £1million.

Genuinely, is it difficult for you and- not wanting to single you out in particular- others in your Party, to understand the realities of life for people at the other end of the income scale, in particular life in/ waiting for social housing?

And yes, I did watch you rough sleeping for a TV documentary. That was you wasn't it?

Hi Domesticslattern, don't believe everything you read in the papers. I take your point that it is difficult to represent everyone through one party but I am also trying to encourage all sorts of people, who represent all walks of life to consider becoming a politician. If people care deeply about something they need to be given a voice, one way to do this is to become involved in local politics.

And yes that was me

Capped rents = less likely to let their properties out? Erm, what else are they going to do with their properties? We all know many many people who rely on their property empires being funded by the housing benefit system - apparently that is fair game.

And instead it is a single pronged approach at the favourite Tory targets - the poor. Never mind that the billions spent on housing benefits has not actually ever touched the pockets of the poor and instead has been lining those 'hard working middle class property developer's' pockets.

Correct me if i'm wrong but i thought the driver for a landlord to offer the new affordable rent product is to create an income stream for new build? Which is, by default, incompatible with tenants needs and wishes...

Can you give us some specifics on this please, Grant?

All we have over here are 'luxury' apartment blocks as that's what makes the developers the most money.

What will you do to increase the stock of social housing?

Do you own a plane or not, though?

@NotAnotherNewNappy

Hi again Grant ,

Thanks for not answering replying to my question. It's great to hear that you may indeed be sticking to the promises about your made about giving social housing tennants more of a stake in their homes in your pre election white paper and manifesto.

Sorry, didn't get into as much detail on that part as you wanted, but we are keen to ensure that people can have a stake in their homes. I think you're probably referring to our 'foot on the ladder' proposals here and I can say that we're incorporating these ideas into our new Affordable Rent product which has been announced and we're about to legislate for.

@NotAnotherNewNappy

Please can you direct me to where this part of your proposals are outlined in more detail? Since May I have googled 'tories give tennants more of a stake in social housing' etc almost everyday and even the greatest search engine on earth can't find them!

Okay, this is the document that you'll want to read www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/socialhousingreform

@NotAnotherNewNappy

Many thanks again and good luck sleeping soundly in your bed at night when you have worked so hard to make normal families live in fear of losing the roof over their heads, Nann

I don't know what kind of scaremongering stories you've been hearing, but there's absolutely NO REASON for you to be concerned about losing the roof over your head.

Why would you even say this?

We're not making ANY changes to any existing tenures. So if you live in a social home of any kind then there's no change.

What isn't fair is that the housing waiting lists have doubled over 13 yrs and all those people without a roof over their heads would be keeping you awake at night if you were the Housing Minister. That's the issue that keeps me awake and it's absolutely right to do something about it.

So please don't listen to those who scaremonger, you've heard it direct. There is NO CHANGE to whatever your social housing arrangement happens to be. And there never will be under us.

Thank you, sir. My point is that the recent housing benefits changes discourage rather than encourage people to store assets in property. If you work and get made redundant you are better off selling your house and blowing the proceeds so that you get your rent paid, whatever the landlords charge, and your children do not go hungry. People who have worked and tried are persecuted more than someone who has never tried and never worked. Good changes? I don't think so. I would be most interested in your views.

There are, however, safeguards in place to protect tenants from excessive charges. If a tenant considers that their rent is significantly higher than the rents for comparable tenancies they can ask for the rent to be referred to the rent assessment committee for a determination, which becomes the maximum the landlord can charge.

At which point the lanlord rents to private tenants, from whom demand is on the increase because nobody can buy a home.

@Jaybird37

Hi Grant

Is this the kind of behaviour which you would make criminal?

link here

If not, given that the current government are abolishing standards boards, and the Conservative party believe that control over local representatives should be through local parties, what are local people supposed to do?

Hi Jaybird. I can't comment on individual cases. The Standards Board regime unfortunately developed into a vehicle for vexatious complaints that wasted councillors' time and the council's resources. We're scrapping it, but we remain serious about conduct, that's why we are making it a criminal offence to misuse public office ie if a councillor lies about or conceals a personal interest with the intention of putting their own interests before those of the public.

Tell us more about the promised gameshow, ppppplllllease.

So please don't listen to those who scaremonger, you've heard it direct. There is NO CHANGE to whatever your social housing arrangement happens to be. And there never will be under us

Oh how those words will haunt you.

Policywonk

Exactly, Policy, which is what my council seems to be encouraging in its survey.

Could you explain what you will do about this, please Grant/aide?

@domesticslattern

The papers report that you are a millionaire with your own plane.

A sure reason NOT to believe everything that you read in the papers. My family and I fell about the floor laughing when we read that I was a multi-millionaire in the weekend paper. If only. Sadly not even a millionaire I'm afraid.

@policywonk

I've thought idly about becoming a local councillor (although being a fully paid-up Guardianista I'd never get elected in my True Blue backwater), but surely the next four-and-a-half years are going to be absolutely murderous for local councils. Funding cut, powers devolved, revenue-raising powers taken away - responsibility without power is going to be the motto for councils up and down the land. Services for the most vulnerable (families fleeing domestic violence, asylum seekers, people with chronic health problems) are going to go down the tube all over the country. Now is not the time to get involved in town hall politics, I'd have thought.

Question: the principle of 'localism' is great in theory - motherhood and apple pie. Everyone wants to see people getting more involved in local politics, and local councils being more responsive to their electorates. But given that the Coalition is busily removing all ringfences and cutting local authority funds (except those to the richest councils, which are being increased), aren't you just - to quote Polly Toynbee - devolving the axe? If you really believed in localism, wouldn't you allow local councils more revenue-raising powers?

hi policywonk, We're not devolving the axe, we're devolving the right tools for councillors and councils to get on with the job of successfully running their local authority. There's no getting around the fact that public finances are under pressure, but we want councils to cut waste, inefficiency and red tape, not services.

Thanks for your reply Grant, but it does not really answer the question which is, as a resident, what would you suggest I do? Alternatively, if you are serious about this, will you be looking into it?

madam I'm in the same area as you

Sorry Grant, but a lot of people are in fear of losing their homes. Yes you might not be changing existing tenures but there has been a cap on hb which is the source of people worrying. Please do not laugh of our fears.

packof - They are Tories. They don't care. The poor don't count. Remember?