INDEPENDENT REPORT IDENTIFIES CRUCIAL GAPS IN BIRMINGHAM HOUSING PLAN

Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, today voiced his growing concerns about the Lib Dem/Tory administrations plans for the future of council housing in Birmingham, as an independent report identifies “critical gaps in policy and practice that need urgent closure”.

The report, by the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Council Housing in Birmingham, at the London School of Economics, suggests that the council’s current plan “denies the council additional government funding or other special resources to upgrade the decayed and unrepaired stock that blights many parts of the city and many tenants’ lives”.

The report goes on to comment that the plan will bring homes to just a minimal basic standard and does not provide for the “upgrading of kitchens and bathrooms, nor for the important environmental and communal improvements” on our city’s estates.

More worryingly, the report found “a gap in funding for reinvestment in poor quality council estates” and goes on to say that “it seems highly unlikely that sufficient funds can be raised….by Birmingham City Council selling its assets and diverting its scarce resources”. The report concludes that these gaps “can only be filled by Birmingham making investment sacrifices in other urgent fields”.

Liam commented

“My concern is for the long term improvement of our community. That means a decent home for every tenant, and city estates that we can be proud of. This report shows that the current administration in Birmingham don’t share that vision’.

“It’s very worrying when the council just shrug when such crucial gaps are revealed. You really can’t be complacent with people’s lives, and our communities’ future.’

“Rather than saddling the city with a housing time bomb, I think the council should go back to the drawing board. Decent Homes can be secured for tenants if we act now, without sacrificing services”.

ENDS

A full copy of the report by LSE Housing can be found at:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEHousing/projects/urbanNeighbourhoods/birminghamHousingCommission.htm