Empty Homes Week 2011 - Reading Lib Dems' Campaign Continues

Apologies for the lack of updates, the previous few weeks have been incredibly busy, but productive.

I haven't had time to write many blog posts so if you want to keep up with my activities you might want to follow me on Twitter.

But I wanted to write a quick note about an important current issue and one that is close to my heart .

This week is National Empty Homes Week - the brainchild of my friend David Ireland, Chief Executive of the excellent campaigining charity Empty Homes.

David switched me on to the problem  in Reading when he phoned me out of the blue five years ago when I was first elected on to Reading Borough Council to tell me about the problem of empty homes and to draw my attention to the Council's shocking record on the issue.

The Council which was at that time controlled by Labour had no strategy, resources of focus ont the issue.

This was not as a result of lack powers available to tackle the problem but lack of will by councillors in control of the Council to do something about it.

I began campaigning on the issue locally and this led me at one point to have a meeting with a Labour housing minister who despite listening to what I had to say failed to take any action whatsoever to improve the situation.

Fast forward to today and we have a Council controlled once again by Labour councillors who are once again close to silent on the issue.

To to coincide with Empty Homes Week this morning I took part in a live discussion with BBC Radio Berkshire's Andrew Peach, David Ireland, and Hayley, a resident living in Buckinghamshire struggling to get access to housing she can afford.

According to statistics gathered by Radio Berkshire there are about 25,000 people on housing waiting lists across Berkshire and at about 8,000 in Reading alone.

By their reckoning the number of people stuck on waiting lists has risen by 60% since 2004.

In Reading, lack of access to affordable housing is a major problem for many families and all political parties should be focussed on finding solutions.

There is a particular shortage of family-sized housing to rent.

At the same as people are struggling to find housing in our area there are over 400 properties currently registered as empty in Reading alone (down on 500 last year).

Clearly, bringing empty homes back into use will not solve the housing shortage we are facing but it will go part way to addressing it whereas doing nothing about them will just make matters worse.

According to official figures from Reading Borough Council the total number of properties in Reading classed as 'long term empty' i.e. empty for 6 months or more breaks down as follows:

• 281 owned by individuals
• 67 owned by companies
• 86 by housing associations
• 3 by public bodies

Locally I've led the campaign to raise the profile of empty homes since 2006 and I'm glad that after years of campaigning to get action taken at both local and national government we have a government that actually believes in tackling the problem.

Action on empty homes in the Coalition Agreement and is being delivered now.





Last week in a debate on the issue, Lib Dem Minister Andrew Stunell said:

'I am appalled at the scandal that 250,000 properties are empty when millions of people are on waiting lists, anxiously looking for homes and unable to find them. As well as being eyesores and as well as easily falling into disrepair, empty homes are often an expensive menace to communities and public services, attracting antisocial behaviour, squatting and vandalism.'

So where are empty properties currently located in Reading? According to the latest RBC figures (September 2011) they are:-
 
Battle 78


Tilehurst 69

Abbey 43

Redlands 30

Minster 27

Katesgrove 27

Park 24

Caversham 24

Norcot 22

THames 18

Kentwood 14

Southcote 13

Church 9

Peppard 8

Mapledurham 2
 
Real Action on Empty Homes in Reading

Locally Lib Dems have been leading on the issue with other Parties virtually silent.

• Since 2008, (after a campaign I led which shamed Labour councillors into action) Reading Borough Council has had an Empty Homes Strategy which sets out how the Council will address the problem of empty homes including ranking them by priority order.
• When I was chair of the housing scrutiny committee I asked for updates on empty homes to be published every 6 months. That stopped after a Labour councillor took over the chair last year.
• I have gone on regular 'empty homes' walkabouts with RBC officers to understand the problem and campaign for action
• We have reported countless empty properties to the Council for action across Reading (including 1 Alexandra Road, pictured)
• We have asked questions in Council meetings of councillors and officers
• The Lib Dem - Conservative Coalition Administration that ran the Council between May 2010 and May 2011 protected the role of empty homes officer to ensure that despite budget pressures this important work could continue.

Lib Dems protected action on empty homes in this year's budget. The question is will Labour and the Greens?

Research has  shown there tend to be more empty properties in places with large private rented sector - which is what we have in Reading - our private rented sector is the same size as Manchester!

One of the reasons we have so many empty homes in Reading is that until now there have been little or no incentives for landowners or councils to bring empty homes back into use.

Lib Dems in Government are helping to change this.

The Government has taken a number of important steps, including introducing the New Homes Bonus, in response to the empty homes problem.

• The New Homes Bonus means that for the first time councils are receiving cash not only for every new home they build but also every empty property they bring back into use
• In Reading the Council has been awarded over £1.2 million pounds for building new homes and bringing empty properties back into use.
• Government has allocated a £100 million budget so that housing associations, councils and community and voluntary groups could apply to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing.
• An additional £50 million of funding has been allocated to tackle some of the worst concentrations of empty homes.
• Councils will have local discretion to introduce a council tax premium on homes in their areas that have been empty for more than two years, to provide a stronger incentive for empty-home owners to bring them back into use.

David Ireland, Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency said:

"The government has introduced some excellent measures to bring empty homes back into use set out in it's housing strategy. It is the first time that there has ever been a government empty homes strategy and we welcome it,

"I do think however, that there are a couple of areas where the government could do more. The first is in encouraging councils to dispose of their own abandoned property, and the second is in helping ordinary people create homes for themselves by bring property back into use."

What can you do to help reduce the number of empty homes?

• Visit the Empty Homes website for more information on the issue and how you can take action.
• Watch Channel Four's new series 'The Great Property Scandal' starting tonight at 8.30pm on 4.
• People in Reading can help us tackle the problem of empty homes. Email me if you notice an empty property on your street and I will raise it with the Council for action.

We will continue to campaign on this important issue but we need your help to bring more empty homes back into use so get involved.

We owe it to the people stuck waiting for affordable housing to do everything we can to make the best use of existing housing as well as building new homes.

Reading Labour play politics with Welfare - again

It's disappointing to see that less than two months into the job Labour's new Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Eden, seeking to make political capital out of Welfare in Get Reading this week, a tried and tested tactic of her Party.

A lead councillor in Reading is calling on the town’s two MPs to oppose plans to put a cap on housing benefit.



Councillor Rachel Eden, lead member for housing and neighbourhoods, said Government welfare reforms could make 40,000 families homeless and put a huge burden on council finances.


The reforms cap the level of housing benefit which would mean in expensive areas, the benefit may no long meet the actual cost of rent.


Cllr Eden said: “Here in Reading we’ve known for months that the Government’s proposals would be likely to strain the council’s resources, while causing problems for many residents. I am calling on Reading’s MPs to meet with us and to withdraw their support for these proposals .”

The issue of changes to Welfare is an important one and we should be concerned about.

I and many other Liberal Democrats have real concerns about the impact some of the changes to welfare policies families and vulnerable people.

I and others have raised these issues with our MPs and Ministers and they are well aware of the need to get them right.

Labour councillors and MPs, on the other hand need to face facts: they went into the last General Election planning to cut welfare and pledging specifically, to cut housing benefit.

The way to address genuine concerns about these changes is to engage properly with MPs and to champion these issues in Parliament as a number of Lib Dem MPs such as Jenny Willott and John Leech have continued to do.

The way not to do as Cllr Eden has done is via cheap newspaper headlines which seek to spread concern amongst some of the poorest people in our community.

When I was Lead Member I worked hard to build good relationships with both Reading MPs because I felt strongly, and still do, that the the needs of residents should come ahead of party politics.

The approach I and other Lib Dem councillors took led to increased funding for a number of key housing projects including the regeneration of Dee Park and building of much needed extra-care homes on the former Avenue School site in Katesgrove.

Cllr Eden, in her failure to articulate a) her Party's real position and b) accept her Party's responsibility for the financial crisis that has led to a need to reduce public debt so dramatically does nothing to to move the debate forward or help those who may be affected.

I'm sure this is a well intentioned error by Cllr Eden who is new at her role and as such does not shoulder the entire blame for this mistaken position.

Hers is simply the latest in a long line of hypocritical attacks by Reading Labour politicians.

Last November, when I wasLead Member for the same area and proposed reforms to housing benefit were announced Cllr Pete Ruhemann, the Labour Group's longstanding 'official press spokesperson' took to the airwaves claiming that London Boroughs were already block-booking rooms in Reading as a result of people being forced to move out of London due to benefits changes.

He did not have the imagination to think up this line it was being spun by the Labour Party nationally too: I was rung up by the Daily Mail on the back of this story and when I investigated with officers at the Council it proved to be whollywithout foundation.

All Cllr Ruhemann's comments did was to increase fears amongst people living on some of the lowest incomes in Reading.

Which is just what Cllr Eden is doing.

Disgraceful.

Let's be clear, these attitudes are expounded by councillors from a political party that was committed to making £44 billion pounds worth of cuts going into the last general election.

Ex Welfare Minister James Purnell admitted Labour planned to make cuts to Welfare and he wished he had gone further.

And both Cllr Eden and Cllr Ruheman come from a Party which fought the last General Election on a platform of pledging to cap housing benefit.

So, in future, when it comes to Welfare a bit more honesty, a bit less piety and a lot less politicking from our Labour councillors would make a nice change

7,922 Reasons for Action on Affordable Housing in Reading

Earlier this week I tabled the following question to the Labour Lead Councillor for Housing:

“What steps does the Lead Councillor plan to take to address housing need in the Borough after 24 years of failure by Labour to new Council homes in Reading?”

I was attacked by Labour activists for 'bringing my political campaigning agenda' into the Council.

I make no apologies for that - after all as an opposition councillor that is what I'm there for!

I will continue to fight to get this issue on the Labour Council's agenda because lack of affordable housing is a real problem for thousands of people who live in our area.

I was pleased to hear the Lead Councillor agree to look at 'all options' to increase the supply of affordable housing although disappointed she failed to set any target for increasing the supply of Council properties.

We will be holding her and the Labour administration to account to ensure they deliver for thousands of people waiting for housing.

Officers have confirmed that there are currently just under 8,000 people stuck on the housing register in Reading.

And people who are on the list face a very long wait:

• There are currently 238 x3 bed homes available to rent – average waiting time 1 and half years
• The are 44 x4 bed homes currently available to rent – average wait – 21 months

I have been raising the the problem we face of lack of family-sized homes for social rent for several years now.

Many families are living in seriously overcrowded homes and so far I've been the only politician in Reading to raise this issue and force councillors and officers to look at the issue of under-occupancy.

This problem was exacerbated by the Right to Buy policy introduced under the Conservative government and continue by the previous Labour government which saw thousands of family-sized council homes sold off and not replaced.

In Reading in recent years the majority of new homes that have been built have been executive flats in the town centre - failing to address the need for larger affordable properties for families.

Finally, some facts:


Last year the Coalition Administration of the Council brought about the construction of Reading's first new Council Homes for twenty years.
 
Labour's original scheme was for this development to be owned and managed by a housing association.
 
In government Labour’s total net increase in social housing stock was less than 20,000 – and waiting lists rose by 800,000 because they sold off more Council homes than they built

The Coalition Government has pledged to increase social housing supply by more each year than Labour achieved in thirteen years added together.

Wake up call on housing and mental health

Shelter have published worrying statistics on the link between housing and mental health.

The YouGov survey found 18 million people (38 per cent) in Britain believe housing costs cause stress and depression in their family.

This is a rise of seven million people (15 per cent) since 2009. 

Shelter commissioned YouGov to investigate how the risk of repossession and rent rises are affecting people.

The survey also found that:

More than 13 million people (28 per cent) said they keep up with their rent or mortgage without any difficulty, a drop from 19 million people (41 per cent) in 2009.

12 million people (26 per cent) have reduced the amount they spend on food to help pay their housing costs.

These stats are terrible but they do not surprise me, in fact they  back up 100 % what I am finding in my mailbag and on the doorstep.

Lack of access to cheap housing is a major cause of stress to local families.

I have tabled a question to the next Council meeting asking the Lead Member for Housing, Rachel Eden what she is going to do to increase the supply of affordable housing in Reading.

With around 8,000 people waiting for access to housing on the Council's housing register the Council must do everything it can to increase housing supply.

As I blogged earlier in the week, Ed Miliband has no policies to take this.

This is not a new problem - for 13 years Labour failed to tackle it.

The Coalition has set ambitious targets to increase the supply of new homes - we will be campaigning to ensure they deliver on this.

Homes not headlines - in search of credible housing policies

I read with interest today that Ed Miliband is set to talk about a radical new housing policy, in his 'fightback' speech today.

On closer inspection it seems he is simply going to argue for tweaks to councils allocations policies in favour of more 'deserving' households in an attempt to redistribute homes more fairly:

"One area where people’s sense of fairness is under threat is social housing,’ he will say. ‘In Manchester, as well as helping the most vulnerable families and disabled people with housing, they prioritise households who are giving something back to their communities – making a contribution – for example, people who work for or run local voluntary organisations. They also look to reward people who have been good tenants in the past and who have paid their rent on time and never been involved in any antisocial behaviour.’

Whilst laudable his stance misses the point entirely.

Miliband's pronouncement is the latest in a long line of ill-thought out housing policy announcements which fail to address the key issue facing UK housing policy: that of lack of supply.

Recent examples of this approach which appears to be motivated by a desire to grab the headlines rather solve housing problems:

• The last (Labour) government changed the rules to enable councils to develop their own allocations policies.
• The current government via the Localism Bill is bringing in new powers to enable Councils to vary the length of tenure from fixed term to lifetime.
• Last week Tory ministers floated the idea of evicting Council tenants earning over £100,000.

At most these changes will make a few thousand more homes available to people but the downside is they could also potentially displace needy people.

Not only that, talking in the newspapers about who should get access to social housing contributes to a myth that people living in social housing now shouldn't be there.

This breeds mistrust and resentment between individuals and communities.

In short, it's not helpful and it does not solve the problem of housing.

I am no expert but I can tell you that five years as a local councillor has taught me not that the wrong people are getting social housing, but there simply is not enough of it to go round.

This is not a moral issue about deserving versus undeserving.

Surely the real issue is one of affordability - people who can afford to own their homes are the exception not the rule in many communities.

The number of first time buyers has fallen and buying a home is out of reach for many young people.

In Reading, families can wait for many years to access social housing that meets there needs.

The wait for family-sized housing - 3-4 bed homes is by far the longest.

There is barely a week that goes when a family doesn't contact me in distress stuck on the Council's housing waiting list desperate to move into larger or more suitable accomodation.

What hope for them?

When I was Lead Member for Housing I was proud to deliver the first new Council homes in Reading for twenty years.

But I realised this was just the start and will only go one small step towards meeting demand for housing.

At the next Council meeting I will be challenging the new Labour Lead Councillor to do more.

There are various ways you can do this and they don't all involve building new homes.

Tackling the problem of empty homes is one, underoccupancy another.

Labour's record on increasing housing supply is not good:

•  Labour sold off almost as many houses as they built (over half a million homes sold). 
• Labour's total net increase in social housing stock was less than 20,000
• Between 1997-2010 waiting lists for social housing rose by 800,000

But that was then, this is now, and with less public money around it is going to be much harder for Councils, housing associations and developers to build new homes.

The Coalition Government has set itself a tough target:

'to increase social housing supply by more each year than Labour achieved in thirteen years added together (Andrew Stunell MP).

I really hope the government meets or ideally exceeds this target. What is clear, however, is that simply tweaking the way councils allocate homes will not be enough.

Update

Officers have confirmed there are currently just under 8,000 people registered with the Council for social housing in Reading alone.

Housing matters

I read with interest who the Reading Labour Party is putting forward to take on Cabinet positions at the Council's AGM tomorrow.

I note that my portfolio has been split into three - do we infer from that it will require three Labour councillors to cover the work I did across housing, health and community care?

As I suspected Whitley Councillor Rachel Eden will be taking on the housing portfolio.

I wish her the best of luck.

She will need it.

The wellbeing of thousands of local people young and old depends on her and the decisions she makes.

After the previous Labour government in coalition with the bankers bankrupted the country spare money for new housing is short.

We face an affordable housing crisis in Reading and for many years I have been a lone voice in the Council campaigning for more and better quality housing for all.

Local Labour councillors have been silent on housing issues for years (not a record they were proud of?) and even Cllr Eden failed to raise a single question with me on the subject during my time in office.

In contrast since I was first elected in 2006 have championed the rights of Council tenants and thousands of people who live in Reading's large private rented sector and exposed the scandal of Reading's empty homes.

You only have to visit many Council estates in Reading to see what years of Labour neglect looks like and thanks to the Decent Neighbourhood Fund which we campaigned for improvements are now starting to take shape.

I wish I had longer to put right years of Labour non-delivery on housing but I am proud of our local record of action on housing and the work I have done leading the debate both in opposition and in power.

Working with the the town's two Conservative MPs I have helped win more funding for new homes and set up innovative new partnership arrangements with neighbouring councils to save Reading Council tenants money.

Working in coalition the Lib Dems delivered Reading's first new Council homes for over twenty years and sent a clear message to government that fixed term tenancies were not wanted.

I also launched a new Landlord Accreditation Scheme in the face of stiff opposition from Labour councillors - is this now under threat?

For the sake of the thousands of families stuck in overcrowded homes I hope Labour's tribal appoach to local politics doesn't damage this important progress.

I have tabled a question to the Council's next meeting on the subject of affordable housing - in my view one of the most urgent issues facing us as politicians.

It will be interesting to see how Cllr Eden and her Labour colleagues respond.

But whatever happens I won't fall silent about housing - there is too much at stake.

And I will not rest until every man, woman and child in Reading has access to an affordable, comfortable and above all safe place they can call home.

Cabinet Agrees To Increase Supported Living Accomodation in Reading

Yesterday evening at Cabinet we took an important step in agreeing to enable officers to identify more properties in Reading to be converted into supported living accomodation for people with learning difficulties.

Officers will now look into converting four existing properties into supported living accomodation.

We have an urgent need in Reading for more appropriate accomodation to enable the growing number of adults with learning difficulties in our community to live more independent lives.

As an administration we are strongly committed to increasing choice, control and independence for all residents to help everyone get the most out of life.

This decision is not only good news for residents with learning difficulties themselves, but Council Taxpayers too.  Supported living placements tend to be around 50% cheaper than residential placements so this move will help limited public funds go further, helping to reduce the need to increase Council Tax.

Local Government Minister Backs Reading's Lib Dem Team

                                                                                     Today was not a typical Monday for me (usually I spend Mondays running around campaigning, doing casework and working on Council matters.
Today we were lucky enough to get a visit from Andrew Stunell MP - Lib Dem Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Communities and Local Government Department.

I have built up a good relationship with Andrew and his office through my involvement in the national empty homes campaign led by David Ireland at the Empty Homes Agency.

Andrew came to Reading see some of the great work Lib Dems on Reading Borough Council have been doing for the people of Reading - the word has clearly got out to Government!.

We have had a series of ministers visit us in Reading over the past few months - including Norman Baker MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport and Danny Alexander MP - Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Andrew is responsible for housing, regeneration and community cohesion among other things so there were plenty of things to interest him in Reading.

As a former councillor and someone who was present during the Coalition negotiations he is a fascinating person to talk to and learn from. First stop was Reading Station - site of £9.6 million investment by the Coalition Government which will do so much to stimulate growth and improve life for Reading's travelling public.

Then on to nearby Katesgrove where the Coalition administration of the Council recently granted £220,000 funding to the Afro Caribbean Community Group to reopen the iconic Central Club - something that Labour promised to do but failed to deliver.

Andrew is pictured here talking to Mark Bartley from ACCG and Margaret McNeill who lives nearby and is standing for Katesgrove in the forthcoming local elections. Andrew welcomed news that Reading Borough Council has increased financial support to the voluntary sector thanks to the innovative approach taken by the Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition.

Then we went over to the Dee Park regeneration scheme in West Reading which recently benefited from £3.7 million pounds additional investment from the Coalition Government which will help develop 76 new affordable homes. Andrew had the chance to meet three local residents including a youngster who are working on the site and developing new skills.

After that it was a short hop to Tilehurst Triangle where Andrew met Cllr Peter Beard and Cllr Chris Harris members of the hard-working Tilehurst Lib Dem team who have not only kept libraries open but extended opening hours!

We talked to him about how we had frozen Council Tax for the first time in many years without cutting frontline services - as we had committed to doing in our local Coalition Agreement.

Then we took Andrew over to visit the former Avenue School site on Basingstoke Road in Katesgrove to see the first new development of extra-care Council Homes in Reading for 20 years brought about as a result of a successful campaign by myself and local MP Rob Wilson - something he was very pleased to see.

Then we took Andrew to Addington Road in Redlands to talk to students about the new Landlord Accreditation Scheme which we have recently implemented to help improve the standard of student and private rented housing in Reading - replacing Labour's failed scheme.
We spoke about the need to tackle problems in neighbourhood with high numbers of rented homes without dividing communities - something that locally Labour do not seem to get.
Like me Andrew is passionate about improving housing and increasing the supply of housing so I took the opportunity to talk shop with him!

Finally we took him to Christchurch Road to talk about our successful empty homes strategy which is bringing long disused properties back into use - an issue very close to my heart. I am delighted that the administration have found resources to keep doing this vital work going despite huge pressures on our budget as a result of Labour's mismanagement of the public finances.

I spoke to Andrew about the New Homes Bonus which will incentivise councils to build more homes and bring empty homes back into use among other things.

I explained to him that in Reading we had ruled out introducing fixed-term tenancies in Reading for  Council tenants and he confirmed that this would be down to the discretion of locally elected councils. Andrew characterised the previous Labour way of ruling local government as being all about compelling councils to do things - he is a confirmed localist which is a refreshing change for a minister based in Whitehall!

Kirsten and Andrew spoke in depth about extending apprenticeships even further in Reading and localising business rates - something we are very keen to see happen so local people and businesses see the benefit of the endeavours.

All in all it was a really positive day and a chance to showcase the work we the Lib Dems on Reading Borough Council have been doing to improve the lives of local communities we represent.

And the sun shone!

Council Delivers New Affordable Homes for Disabled People in Reading

More positive housing news today when it was confirmed that the Homes and Communities Agency would contribute £120,000 towards the construction of new affordable homes for disabled people in Reading.
Reading Borough Council will be putting in £150,000 towards the development of three new purpose built bungalows on a disused former mobile home site in Hastings Close, Southcote by Ability Housing.
Labour comprehensively failed o deliver the affordable housing that is needed in Reading and locally I have led the campaign to increase the supply of housing. Bungalows suitable for people with physical disabilities are in short supply in our area so this news is really welcome. These new homes will give more people with physical disabilities the opportunity to live independently in a home of their own choosing. The bungalows, designed in accordance with the Wheelchair Housing Design Guide, will feature adjustable height kitchens and fully wheelchair accessible wet rooms with a bath or shower option. They will also include future provision for ceiling track hoists, covered wheelchair car parking spaces with transfer areas and assistive technologies to meet the individual needs of the tenants. With a one, two and three bed option, all available for affordable rent, these bungalows will be suitable for a range of tenants with physical disabilities.The homes will be available to applicants on the Council’s waiting list and will be allocated through the bidding system.
As I have said before, competition for funding for affordable housing is fierce with the squeeze on public finances so it is fantastic that the Government via the Homes and Communities Agency has once again decided to invest in Reading.
The Lib Dem - Conservative Coalition running the Council has an excellent record on delivering new affordable housing including the first ever new Council houses for twenty years on the former Avenue Site, and more recently securing funding for 76 new affordable homes in Dee Park.
As Lead Member for Housing I will continue to campaign to get more affordable homes built for the thousands of local people of all backgrounds and ages who so desperately need them.

Coalition Council wins £3.7m to build more affordable homes in Dee Park

Great news today as it has been confirmed that Liberal Democrat-Conservative controlled Reading Borough Council is set to benefit from £3.7 million pounds to held build more affordable homes in Dee Park.

From the official Homes and Communities Agency press release:

"The funding from the Homes and Communities Agency will support the creation of 76 new affordable homes in later stages of the regeneration scheme, bolstering the £10.4 million the HCA put towards the project in March 2009.

The original investment supported the first phase of the regeneration, which includes 111 homes for homes for social rent, including 60 brand new extra care housing flats for the elderly. Work on the extra care housing facility is well underway and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.Many of the homes for private sale are also in the process of being built.

Sections of road are being renewed improving access around the area, and residents will also benefit from new outdoor sports facilities at Ranikhet Primary School, which can be used by both the school and also the wider community."

This is great news for residents in Dee Park and Reading as a whole. Competition for public funding to build new affordable housing is intense so the fact that the Council has secured this funding shows the Coalition Government recognises what an important regeneration scheme Dee Park is not just to Reading but across the South East as a whole.

We have worked hard to make the case to the Homes and Communities Agency that this scheme is not just about investing in bricks and mortar - it will help deliver better life chances for all residents living in the area and help support economic growth in Reading. We also have won the argument that this scheme represents excellent value for money for taxpayers which is important in the new economic climate.

Every pound invested by Government will go to investing in the community not just now but in the future - improving housing for elderly people, as well as community facilities such as the local school.

Ministers have already pledged that they will build affordable homes during this Parliament than Labour (arguably not difficult given Labour's parlous record when it came to building enough affordable homes when they were in government).

I am especially proud to have overseen the construction of Reading's first new council homes in 20 years during my first year as Lead Member for Housing. With thousands of people in Reading on the Council's waiting list for affordable housing it is essential we build homes for people that desperately need them.

I am really grateful to everyone on the project team at Reading Borough Council and the Dee Park Partnership - a joint venture between Catylst Housing Group and Willmott Dixon Group for all their hard work on this project over many years and more recently in securing this funding.

I would also like to thank in particular local MP Alok Sharma who after I contacted him lobbied the HCA on the Council's behalf earlier this year. His support has been vital keeping this project moving forward.

When it comes to housing I will always put politics aside to work with all parties to ensure that we get the best possible outcomes for local residents. This issue is too important for party politics.

Finally and most importantly I would like to thank all the residents who have worked with the Council for many years to get this project of the ground. Thanks to the awful mess Labour left the public finances in public funding for capital projects is in short supply and I am grateful residents for continuing to actively support the scheme alongside councillors and MPs.

But our campaign does not end here. We need to win the argument for sustained investment in Dee Park by Government and housing associations to ensure residents get the full benefit of the regeneration project and I will continue to champion the scheme at every level.

Coalition Government makes real progress on empty homes

Last November the Government launched a consultation on plans to reward councils for building new homes and bringing empty homes back into use.

Today the New Homes Bonus was formally launched.:

"Through the New Homes Bonus the Government will match the council tax raised from new homes for the first six years. The bonus available for an affordable home will be up to 36 per cent more than for a similar market home, equivalent to an extra £350 per house premium every year. Empty properties brought back into use will also receive the cash bonus for six years.

This works out at payments of over £9,000 paid on average to each Band D home or almost £11,000 for an equivalent affordable home. So if an area increased the number of homes by 1,000 units this could earn a community £10m to spend as they see fit - significant funding at a time when public finances are tight."

Over 500 organsations including my local council responded to the consultation with the majority of responses very supportive of the plans. You can read a summary of e responses here.

Of the 189 groups that responded to the question about empty homes 92% supported plans to reward councils for bringing empty homes back into use. This is a very positive endorsement of the direction of travel taken by the Government in relation to this issue.

This approach is radical change from the approach take to tackling empty homes under Labour where local councils were not incentivised into bringing empty homes back into use, so as a result many councils failed to take steps to deal with this problem in their area.

Thankfully as a result of years of campaigning by myself and other Lib Dems in Reading, Reading Borough Council is one of the most proactive local authorities in the country in relation to empty homes.

£100 million pounds earmarked to help tackle empty homes

Earlier this week the Homes and Communities Agency published the Framework for its Affordable Homes Programme 2011-15. In addition to providing details about investment for the construction of new homes it includes plans to invest in bringing long term empty properties back into use:

'£100m has been earmarked for work to bring empty homes back into use. Funding will be available from April 2012. The funding will be targeted at long term empty properties which are blighting neighbourhoods, and which would not come back into use without intervention.

 We recognise that there are a very wide range of possible approaches to tackling empty homes, and that different approaches might be most effective in different circumstances. We want to offer providers as much flexibility as possible to take the most effective approach locally, whilst ensuring a rigorous approach to value for money. We will shortly be seeking expressions of interest from providers who are interested in applying for funding to tackle empty homes.

Providers are asked to indicate in the standard information template www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/affordable-homes whether they are interested in participating in bringing empty homes back into use once further programme detail is available. Providers who have schemes to bring empty homes back into use which are ready to deliver before April 2012 should provide information through the standard information template.'

Theory aside it will take effort to make these proposals work on the ground, but overall this has been a very good week for those of us who have been campaigning for years to get empty homes on the political agenda and most importantly, back in use.

Lib Dems win key changes to Welfare Reform Bill

More evidence today of Liberal Democrat influence in Government with the news that Nick Clegg blocked plans to cut Housing Benefit for people who have been unemployed for more than one year.

This is a really welcome development and I am certain it would not have been brought about had it not been for Liberal Democrat MPs in the Coalition.

The original plan was unduly punitive and I was concerned about the impact it could have on people living in Reading already struggling to find a job.

Last year I blogged my thoughts about housing and  planned reforms to benefits. It's worth remembering that Labour also planned to reform Housing Benefit - it was in their manifesto.

I hope the reforms announced today will be an improvement on the broken welfare system which traps too many people in poverty.

As Lead Member for Housing I will be keeping a close eye on the impact of any changes to benefits and ensuring the Council is doing all it can to support people who find themselves on hard times or in housing need.

Lib Dem Minister for Pensions Steve Webb MP explains over on Lib Dem Voice argues that the new Bill is a 'radical improvement' on the current framework for benefits:

"Universal Credit will be flexible and dynamic, taking into the account the month-by-month changes every person experiences. This will be in marked contrast to the fiendishly complex tax credits system where people faced recovery of overpayments years after they received the cash. In all, this new system will lift 950,000 people – including 300,000 children – out of poverty and 2.7m households will be better off as a result."

I really hope he is right - we'll have to wait and see.

Supporting Migrant Communities in Reading

This afternoon I  was invited to speak at a conference organised by South East England Councils on the subject of housing and migration. The conference was called 'Housing the SoutEast: Opportunities & challenges.' Below are excerpts from my presentation.

One of the things I love about living in Reading is its diversity. I am not from Reading,. I moved here to take up a job in the town - and I am not alone in this.

Reading has enjoyed record migration from many parts of the world - this has enriched the town and provided many businesses and sectors with access to much needed skills. The recent Place Survey which was carried out in 2009 found that people in Reading tend to be very comfortable living alongside people from different backgrounds - this is a real plus point about Reading and one of the reasons Reading is such a popular place to live.

International migration to Reading

As the Centre for Cities has recognised Reading is a vibrant place with a dynamic economy which attracts migration from both inside and outside the UK. Reading access to a highly-skilled workforce is one of the reasons global businesses like to base themselves in the Reading area and there is no doubt that migration has had a very positive impact on our economic performance as a town.
Annual population surveys suggest that 25% of the residents in Reading were not born in the UK Since 2004 there has been a substantial flow of economic migrants in to the borough. Official statistics show that most migrants were male between the ages of 18024 and were predominantly from Eastern Europe ( 60% from Poland alone). In 2009 ethnic minority pupils made up 45% of the school population up from 27% in 2004. In addition to Eastern European, Nepalese is a growing community in Reading. And in 2008 migrant workers accounted for 14 out of every 1000 people in Reading.
My brief presentation today focussed on the impact of migration on housing.

Impact on housing and the community

In Reading there has been little impact on social housing as migrant workers are not able to apply until employed for 12 months. One issue officers have identified has been an increase in overcrowding of HMOs, and tenants accepting poor quality accommodation. We have also seen an increase in rough sleeping - 38 % of rough sleepers have been Eastern European. There have also been some problems around anti-social behaviour and street drinking. Other impacts have included an increased need for translation services and higher demands placed on health and education services.

How has the Council responded?

• A Polish speaking officer has been employed 2 days a week at the main customer service desk at the Civic Centre to provide advice and information to new arrivals in Reading.
• A welcome pack has been produced aimed at new arrivals (this includes information on tenant rights/expected standards of accomodation).
• Immigration advice provided by Citizens Advice Bureau has been grant funded by the Council
• A Polish Saturday School has been funded by the Council

Housing Interventions

• We have increased inspections and enforcement in the private rented sector (in particular in relation to overcrowding inspections)
• Rough sleeping has been challenged - including using a Polish speaking worker in outreach team

The Reading 2020 Partnership successfully bid for funding from government via the Migration Impact Fund. Ths has helped us to invest in front end services to help support integration. This activity is still ongoing.

Current initiatives

The Council is continuing to invest in community development and outreach in Polish communities in Reading. In addition this week the Council pledged to grant fund to community groups £45,000 to provide much-needed advice services to Reading's growing Nepalese community A range of other activities are planned.

Looking to the future

Due to the economic downturn the number of economic migrants has decreased but in the longer term it is predicted that pressures on school places and housing in Reading will continue.
The Council has recently introduced a flexible approach to grant funding community groups which will enable us to support communities to support themselves. Funding will be based on transparent criteria so that different communities  and groups have an equal chance of accessing funding. We will continue to enforce standards in the private rented sector to ensure everyone has access to decent housing.

Housing Advice

At the conference I was recommended this website aimed at new arrivals in the UK and people looking for clear information about housing rights for migrant workers and others. This website is also a useful source of information for anyone who is in housing need in the UK.

Campaigning for more for support older tenants and families in housing need

Locally one of the issues I have actively campaigned on is in relation to overcrowding. This is a significant issue in Reading where we have a real shortage of affordable housing for families. I care about it because i have seen in my own ward the damage overcrowding does to the health and well children and families in our area.

We are a small Borough geographically so we do not have lots of sites available for big housing developments so it is essential we make the best use of the housing we have already got. By this I mean best use of housing in all sectors - privately rented, council-owned, housing association and empty properties

We do not only lack affordable housing but in particular family-sized homes. The Council's stock of family-sized housing is much smaller thanks to the disastrous combination of the Right To Buy policy plus the fact that under Labour no new Council houses were built.

Another key factor has been the fact that around 90% of new housing built in the past few years has been flats rather than houses.

I investigated the extent of the problems this caused when I was in opposition when questions to Council I tabled in 2009 revealed:

'Average wait time for a three bed Council/RSL property in Reading is a shocking 20 months
Average wait time for a four bed Council property in Reading is currently 22 months
435 council homes have been sold off by RBC since 1997'

As I commented at the time:

'These figures confirm my experience supporting constituents in the ward: there is a chronic under-supply of affordable family-sized (3 and 4 bed) housing in Reading and the time some families are having to wait for housing is far too long.'

I used this information as Chair of Scrutiny to champion action to help families stuck in overcrowded accommodation.

I am pleased to say I have been able to help a small number of families who were previously overcrowded but I am conscious that there are hundreds more families who need my help and support so I must keep campaigning in my role as Lead Councillor.

The flip sized of overcrowding in under-occupancy where family-sized houses are not fully-occupied. This is a very sensitive issue as many people are understandably keen to stay in homes they have lived in for many years.  However, as people get older they often find they are unable to manage larger properties and smaller properties are more suitable and for example cheaper to heat. The need to give older people more housing choice is one of the reasons I have been so keen to champion new developments of extra-care Council housing currently under construction in the Town.

For the reasons I outlined above it is incumbent on the Council to ensure that it is utilising all housing stock to address housing need most effectively, so we must look at how we reduce under-occupancy.

Why blog this today? Well, last month Grant Shapps MP, Minister for Housing announced £13 million pounds worth of additional funding for councils to help older tenants move into more suitable accommodation.

This announcement follows research commissioned by Mr Shapps into the reasons why older people often do not want to move. I was disappointed to learn that Reading Borough Council was not one of the 50 councils which were set to benefit from this additional cash as there are good reasons why we could put it to good use:

• The high levels of pressure on the Council housing stock, especially in relation to large family sized units.
• The disproportionate number of elderly tenants who are on a low income and would struggle to maintain larger properties

In Reading it is estimated that 26% (35) of Local Authority-owned four-bed properties are under occupied and in the last three years, only 19 under occupied properties have been released via a transfer to a smaller property. As a result of this the Council is already undertaking a review of incentives and our approach to reduce under-occupancy.

Our recently adopted Housing Strategy which enjoys cross-Party support identifies the following priorities in relation to this issue:

• Tackling under occupation in our own stock
• Approaching households on the waiting list requiring large family units on a case-by-case basis to assess other options to reduce over crowding, for example, assisting adult dependants into their own tenancy
• Assessing a household’s current property for practical measures to increase space and reduce over-crowding

I have written to Mr Shapps and our two local MPs today arguing that Reading should benefit from additional support so the Council can better support older tenants find alternative accommodation and the hundreds of families in desperate need of family-sized housing. I really hope we can gain their support on this.

Housing & Community Care Services To Residents Continue To Improve

Long before I became a Lead Member and my days spent as Vice-Chair of the Council's Corporate Community & External Affairs Scrutiny Panel and Chair of Housing, Health and Community Care Scrutiny Panel, I have taken a keen interest in improving the services residents receive from the local Council.

In my opinion, one of the most important roles councillors have is to challenge officers to improve service delivery and to champion good customer service.

So I was very pleased that better services for residents is right at the heart of the Coalition Agreement the Liberal Democrats and Conservative Groups running Reading Borough Council signed last May.

Over the years I have focussed on the need to improve the service tenants receive in relation to housing repairs, social care assessments and when generally reporting issues, so I was really pleased to see the most recent data showing improvements in these areas

A report due to be discussed at a meeting of the  CCEA Scrutiny Panel next week Council performance is on the agenda finds:

"Highways, Street care and Housing Repairs have all recorded improvements over the year to date. Greater feedback and assistance from the customer service call centre is likely to have been a considerable factor in this improvement. There are likely to be further opportunities to improve the avoidable contact performance in these areas and both service areas and customer service centres are expected to continue to identify opportunities"

Award-Winning Call Centre

One of the key findings is the positive impact the highly-professional service provided by the Council's award-winning in-house Call Centre is having on customer service across the Council:

"The Call Centre handled15,439 with service level 93.6%, 0.5% abandoned and average speed of answering 9 seconds in Qtr 3.The Customer trackbacks for Qtr 3 shows that 48% rate the Call Centre as Excellent,47% as good, 3% fair and 2% as fair."

An increasing number of Housing and Community Care calls from the public are being routed through to the Council's Call Centre. This has had the effect of giving residents a more professional service and freeing social care staff up to concentrate on other areas - improving the service that residents receive.

I have been to visit the Call Centre twice and every time I go I have been really impressed by the work done by Council staff who work there.

Housing Repairs Service

Having been The Lib Dem housing spokesperson since 2006 I am well aware that at times the Council's repairs service has at times left something to be desired when it comes to customer service. I have continually challenged officers in recent years to do more to improve the service, and the latest statistics show how far the Council has come.

According to the latest data, on the Council's Housing Repairs Service specifically:

"Performance in 2009/10 resulted in 96.34% of all'right to repair' jobs being completed within the set timescales. There have been issues with the data following the implementation of a new ICT System in April 2010 where RTR jobs were miscoded. This means that the data needs to be viewed with caution.

At the end of June 2010 performance was at 83.07% and at the end of December performance had improved to 84.95%. Notwithstanding IT problems, samples of performance against national targets indicate that the service continues to perform at the 95/96% level and there has been no increase in tenant or member led complaints about timeliness of service."

Decent Homes

Our Decent Homes programme currently on 'green' with over 99% of Council properties having been brought up to Decent Homes standard. This is good news for Council Tenants.

However, I am acutely aware that the majority of non-decent properties in Reading are in the private rented sector - hence the need to focus on tackling the worst properties and encouraging good landlords via our new Landlord Accreditation Scheme.

Reducing Avoidable Contact

One of the big programmes of work the Council is undertaking to improve customer service is to reduce avoidable calls. This means doing our best to respond to residents first time and reducing the need for people to make repeat calls to the Council for problems to be sorted out.

The report to Scrutiny next week confirms the huge strides that the Council is making in this area, particularly in relation to Housing Services:

"Qtr 3 sampling showed that the overall level of Avoidable Contact for the Housing Service has reduced from 46% in the July sample to 33% in the December 2010 sampling exercise. This shows a significant improvement and an overall service wide reduction in Avoidable Contact of 13%.

Housing is now achieving the target set earlier this year of 35% overall. Qtr 3 sampling still showed wide variations between teams for volume of calls received and AC rates. There were also changes to individual team performance. The overall volume of calls across the two sample periods remained similar from 4184 in July to 4037 in December (slight reduction of 3.5%)

I am really pleased to see that the most significant improvements (reductions in avoidable contact) have been in Housing Options, ASB, Rents and Repairs teams. These teams are providing  really important frontline services to Council tenants and residents.

Increases in avoidable contact have occurred in Revenues, Income Recovery & Property & Support teams. I will be speaking to officers about what can be done to tackle this.

Community Care Services

In Community Care, the Council continues to improve the service it delivers some of the most vulnerable people in Reading.  The latest official data shows the Council is currently on track to achieve around 28% of clients receiving self-directed support (or personal budgets) by the end of March 2011. As at Q3 we have over 300 more clients receiving self directed support than we did at the same time in 2009/10. 

The Government has set a target of 30% of service users and carers to be receiving self directed support from councils by 2011. We are also seeing improvements in the speed of social care assessments and the delivery of social care assessments - both really important indicators of service quality.

In the last quarter 92.5% of assessments were completed within 4 weeks and 85.7% of services were delivered in 28 days following assessment.

I have written to officers to thank them for the hard work they and their teams have put in to deliver these service improvements to residents in Reading.

However, I am not complacent - where service has dipped or stalled I have written asking for updates about what plans are in place to improve services.

If you are a resident or Council tenant living in Reading and you have a comment to make about Housing or Community Care services - positive or negative please do contact me so we can continue to improve the services the Council provides.

Coalition Government develops radical new plans to tackle empty homes

Good news today which I discovered via the Department of Communities and Local Government's Business Plan, which was published by the Coalition Government today as part of a drive towards greater transparency.
Priority 4 of the Plan relates to housing aspirations:
'Meet people’s housing aspirations, including by providing local authorities with strong and transparent incentives to facilitate housing growth, as well as making the provision of social housing more flexible"
Action 4.8 of the Plan in particular caught my eye:
'Develop a strategy to bring more empty homes back into use, working with local authorities, housing associations and some of the property owners, neighbours and others affected.'
So far the Government has done the following:

• Invited interested parties (including local authorities and registered social landlords) to submit views through the Homes and Communities Agency’s ‘Maximising the Use of Empty homes’ online debate
• Considered the Homes and Communities Agency’s analysis of responses and develop plans to bring more empty homes into use

Later this month the government will:

• Consult as part of the New Homes Bonus consultation, on provision to reward local authorities for bringing empty homes back into use
• Work with the Homes and Communities Agency to develop a programme for empty homes

The fact that the Government is already developing concrete proposals to reduce the number of long-term empty properties across the country is fantastic news for everyone who wants to see councils and other public bodies makes the most out of existing housing stock.
It is a testament to individuals such as David Ireland, Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency who have been making the case for action for much longer than I have, and who originally got me involved in the campaign. The approach taken by the Coalition Government is in direct contrast to the timid, slow one taken by the previous Labour Government.
Locally, thanks to the Lib Dem campaign I led, Reading Borough Council is steadily bringing empty homes back into use following years of inaction by the previous Labour administration which meant the number of empty homes built up to several hundred. Disgraceful when you think this Council once won awards for its empty homes work.
It's worth saying that this work is about far more than simply bringing a home back into use as a new home - it can also be about reducing anti-social behaviour, helping individuals who have got to financial and legal difficulty and restoring pride in our neighbourhoods.
Details released today follow the announcement in the Comprehensive Spending Review that £100 million pounds would be allocated by the Government to bringing empty homes back into use - evidence of commitment at Treasury level to action in this area.
As someone who has been campaigning for over four years for action on this issue, I was very encouraged to see plans to tackle empty homes included in the Coalition Agreement. Both Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifestos contained commitment to action to reduce the number of empty homes. Earlier this year I went to meet Andrew Stunell MP, Minister for Local Government at DCLG to lobby him to deliver on this commitment. I found him very receptive. He asked me some challenging questions about how change could be delivered. I understood that he needed to find a solution that could be acceptable to the Conservatives but also one which was cost-effective and value for money. I am hopeful that progress can be made by councils working with the Homes and Communities Agency.
I am excited by proposals to incentivise councils to bring empty homes in their area back into use.  Empty homes work is currently a non-statutory function of councils - hence not all councils choose to act and a very patchy picture nationally. It must make financial sense as well as sense from a community perspective for councils to act as some of the powers have can be costly in terms of the time and resource needed to make them work.
This announcement today coupled with last week's announcement by Chris Huhne of the new Green Deal is yet more evidence that this Government is committed to getting the most out of existing housing stock, as well as building more homes. This makes environmental, as well as economic sense and I look forward to investigating the details when they are published in the coming weeks.

Never let facts get in the way of a good (housing) story

Now that the local Labour Party is no longer running Reading Borough Council they clearly have a lot of extra time on their hands which, sadly, they appear to be using to spread misleading, inaccurate stories about policies of the Coalition Government and the Coalition Council. On the plus side they have finally discovered Twitter - which is to be welcomed. They were seemingly the last political Party in Reading to do so, but never mind they got there in the end.
Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with Labour issuing press releases. It's reasonable to expect politicians of all colours will try and political points - we've all done it.
What saddens me is the way in which the local Labour Party indulges in scaremongering in an attempt to grab the headlines. Who benefits from this approach? Not local people, that's for sure. The people it hurts is the worst off - people who are depending on politicians for help and support.
It's not a new tactic. We've seen it before in Reading. Yet again Labour are reverting to their age old tactic of scaring the electorate into voting for them - forgetting of course that local voters possess a) a memory and b) a brain which enables them to see through Labour spin.
The fact is, that since May I've yet to read a press release from Reading Labour Party iwhich has contained one constructive idea in it or indeed any details about how their policies would be paid for.
Let's not forget, going into the election Labour was committed to making £44 billion pounds worth of cuts. And at least part of those savings were going to be in welfare - that much is clear.
Take housing, for instance. You'd think wouldn't you that after the parlous record of the previous Labour government when it comes to building new homes, local Labour councillors would want to keep quiet on that subject locally. I've blogged loads about this in recent years because I think access to decent housing is a basic human right and I have spent the last few years campaigning to help make this a reality for people living in Reading.
Anyway, back to housing, and below are some statistics you won't be reading in a Labour Party Press Release any time soon:

Between 1997-2010:

• New homes built = 559,000 (337,000 for rent and 192,00 low cost home ownership
• Homes sold: 605,000
• Reduction in homes in the overall social housing sector: 45,530 in 13 years
• Reduction in homes available for social rent: 227,000 homes fewer homes to rent
• Housing waiting list: nationally went up 741,000 - leaving 1,763,000 families waiting for a home
• Unrealistic nationally-imposed housing targets: fell short by 78,000 homes last year
• Housing benefit bill went from £10 billion to £21 billion

And locally, under Labour management of Reading Borough Council:-

• Hundreds of family-sized Council homes in Reading were sold off and not replaced.
• The waiting list for social housing rose to over 4,000
• As a result the number of families in overcrowded accommodation soared.
• Flats were crammed onto back gardens as a result of John Prescott's planning policies - over 90 % of new-build properties in Reading over the past two years have been flats adding to the pressure on larger properties
• The private-rented sector expanded unchecked -with little or no regulation of the sector
• A booming buy to let market which pushed up rents and that is quickly turning into a buy to leave market in some areas
• Hundreds of private homes left empty because the Council had no strategy to reduce the number
• The number of houses of multiple-occupation increased leaving many neighbourhoods struggling to cope until an in depth scrutiny investigation led by myself and Cllr Ricky Duveen prompted action

This week Labour activists were busy once again spreading misinformation about Coalition policies about housing.Their press release quoted pretty much wholesale in the Evening Post states:

"London borough councils are already block-booking B & B rooms in Reading to house people who will lose their homes."

Wrong. To my knowledge no such block-booking is taking place. And it really isn't difficult to find this out. All Labour councillors needed to do was to check with officers at the Council, as I did when I heard this rumour and they would have found there is not a grain of truth in this. Labour locally are simply repeating the misinformation promulgated by Ed Miliband and others.

It's disappointing that former 'independent' councillors in Reading have fallen into the same trap. In addition it seems the latest Labour candidate for Redlands (a ward Labour have failed to win for the last four years) is failing to check her facts before she opens her mouth, claiming that "Redlands is likely to be a ward hit by the housing benefit cap." She then misrepresents some recent announcements about HMOs and claims that the 'delicate balance' between family housing and HMOs could be at risk in some parts of my ward.

I can reassure readers that this description could not be further from the truth. I'm prepared to give Labour's latest candidate for Redlands the benefit of the doubt but on the evidence of this outburst she clearly doesn't know her ward that well.

I can show her plenty of streets where Labour councillors over the years turned a blind eye to issues such as HMOs and the housing mix - indeed any sense of balance of housing types! Until a couple of years ago you barely heard Labour councillors even mention the private rented housing sector, let alone student housing.

As Lead Member for Housing and ward councillor for Redlands I prefer to base my information on unbiased, professional sources - like the Council's housing department and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Based on current data I have seen the numbers of people in Reading who would be affected by the cap at the moment is likely to be very small.

It's worth saying that these proposals have not been introduced yet and at the moment Labour are dining out on 100 % pure speculation. This is pretty scandalous when you think that people on housing benefit are not well off and have enough to worry about without Labour adding to their concerns.

As a responsible administration we are monitoring the situation all the time and we will work to ensure support is available for those who find themselves in housing need as a result of any changes. Because I think the role of councillors is to find solutions, not cause alarm.

I do think it's right however that there is an incentive to work and I'm not sure it is fair if people claiming housing benefits can afford to live in areas other families cannot afford to. And that's not the only issue. Labour in government were happy to consign millions of people to a life on benefits and all the problems such as ill-health that can cause rather than helping them out of poverty. That is the real scandal.

Nowhere in the Labour press release do they spell out an alternative to a continuation of high rents and high benefits bills. And on the subject of facts, here is one that Labour activists new and old, from Redlands to Southcote prefer not to acknowledge: in their 2010 Manifesto Labour pledged to reform housing benefit and limit the amount of housing benefit families could claim.

When I raised this on BBC Radio Berkshire, Cllr Pete Ruhemann claimed not to have heard me - despite the fact he was sitting in a radio studio, presumably wearing headphones. Nevermind, I don't think the listeners will have misheard what I said or his silence on the issue.

On Coalition housing policies some facts:

• Proposals to offer fixed-term tenure and alter rent levels are optional i.e. will not be imposed from the centre.
• If adopted they will only apply to new tenants and with rents covered by housing benefits

It will be down to Reading Borough Council and councillors to decide in consultation with tenants groups what is appropriate for Reading. I will be scrutinising the proposals when they are published by government and only progressing them if I think they have the potential to help local families and individuals and improve the housing situation.

As I said on the radio, I do have concerns about some the proposals but in general I prefer to base my decisions on factual information not guesswork and scaremongering from the local Labour Party, who have demonstrated time after time they are not on the side of local residents and tenants.

Andrew Stunell, Lib Dem local government minister has pledged that the Coalition wil be the first government to make a net addition of homes to the social housing sector since 1979. This is a big ask and I am many others will keep the pressure on to ensure the government delivers where Labour so comprehensively failed. In the meantime, when it comes to housing, a little honesty and a little humility from Labour wouldn't go amiss.

Action needed to tackle Reading's housing crisis

The Reading Evening Post has picked up on Shelter's campaign to highlight the dire shortage of affordable housing across the UK , including here in Reading. But as I pointed out to Anna Roberts who penned the story - the true picture in Reading is actually even worse than the one Shelter describes. A recent report I commissioned as Chair of the Housing, Health and Community Care Scrutiny panel investigating the problem of overcrowding in our Borough revealed the number of people on the Council's housing waiting list has risen from around 4,400 in April 2008 to approximately 6,000 in February 2010. There is no doubt that this increase is linked with the impact of the recession - something I have consistently raised as a councillor over the past 2 years. Across Britain this figure rises to 1.8 million families - this is a damning indictment of Labour's failed housing policies. In Reading the demand for larger homes vastly outsrips supply and it's damaging the health and well-being of thousands of children and families in our Town. There are 186 families registered as needed a property with 4 bedrooms or more and only 3 x 5 bedroom properties belonging to the Council! I have been vocal in campaigning to highlight the lack of affordable social homes for families in Reading for years. An independent inspection of RBC agreed with me highlighting lack of family housing. When the housing strategy was discussed I argued for the Council to work with housing associations to provide more larger family houses to help meet local demand for good quality homes. But the timescales for delivery are still too far in the future because the rate of building is just too low. I've also campaigned extensively to get the Council to use it's powers to encourage more landlords to bring empty properties back into use and for standards to be improved in the private rented sector. We struggle in Reading to have the space to build large amounts of new housing so the Council and other housing partners have to be creative about getting more out of existing stock. Over the past 2 years RBC has placed 600 households in the private sector. This is not all the solution but it is part of of it. In Scrutiny last month we discussed the need to review the Council's under-occupiers policy to make moving into smaller homes more appealing to residents and how to get more out of existing council housing. Council officers are not to blame for the housing crisis we face - responsibility lies with the Labour government and it's failed housing policy. The Lib Dems have long argued we need to restore more powers to councils to build social homes and retain council rents. House building in the UK is at it's lowest level since the 1920s and there is an urgent need to build more affordable housing after Labour failed to reverse the damage done by the Conservative's Right To Buy policy which saw many of Reading's family-sized council houses sold off. Under Labour the Treasury has taken millions of pounds worth of tenants' rent when it should have gone on building more council homes locally. The policy of the Labour government has been to focus too much on so-called first time buyers and to overlook can't-afford-to-buyers - the thousands of people who have been priced out of the market. The latest stamp duty cut announced in Darling's pre-election Budget will not help those who have no chance of getting a mortgage or raising enough cash for a deposit. The housing bubble that the Labour government fuelled a few years ago ended up with many people getting into massive debt trying to get a foot on the housing ladder only to find they couldn't keep up repayments on their mortgages. Buy-to-let in Reading has ended up with too many buy-to-leave empty homes. Too many repossessions have taken place in Reading and the recession has had a terrible impact on people - particularly in relation to housing. We need to look at sustainable ways to tackle the housing crisis and to give everyone a fair chance of decent housing. The recently announced Lib Dem policy to bring hundreds of thousands of empty homes back into use as social homes (which would also create thousands of construction jobs) must be part of that package.

Campaign Update

Sorry for the lack of updates - things have been really busy on the campaign trail. Last week I managed to squeeze in loads of different campaign-related thing and still fit in plenty of time to do my ward casework in Redlands. Here's just a brief summary of some of the things I got up to in Reading West last week.

Hustings at Denefield School

On Thursday I went to Denefield to attend a special hustings. This was my first hustings so far and it was great that it was held in a school. I have been campaigning for years to give young people more of a voice in Reading politics - representing thousands of students as a councillor. We need more meaningful ways to engage and listen to young people and as one girl pointed out we should visit schools all the time (not just at election time!) The event was set up by Josh Harsant - Deputy Head Boy of Denefield and hyper-active Member of Reading Youth Parliament. Josh is leading the campaign to give young people a voice in Reading and I think he is doing a great job. I first got really interested in politics when I studied AS Level Politics so it was great to speak to 6th Formers about the issues that mattered to them in the coming election. Judging by the questions that were posed by students and teachers at Denefield School - tuition fees, jobs, training and affordable housing are key concerns for many young people at the moment. The Reading Evening Post covered the event. I've been delighted to have some young people joining me on the campaign trail - knocking on doors, delivering leaflets etc This is how I got involved in 2005 and I am keen to inspire people to get involved in politics at a grassroots level. The average age of our politicians needs to come down!

Funeral of Corporal Richard Green

On Tuesday I joined local people outside Reading Minster to mourn the loss and remember the life of Corporal Richard Green from Tilehurst who was killed in action in Afghanistan. It was a very moving event.

Backing the Power 2010 Pledge

On Saturday I popped down to the Town Centre to show my support for the national campaign for political reform - and sign the Power 2010 pledge. Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK of all political persuasions have already backed this campaign - please join them. Speaking people online and on the doorstep disillusionment and feelings of disenfranchisement with our political system is widespread. This should worry everyone who cares about the state of our representative democracy in this country. As Nick Clegg said at PMQs last week - this Parliament will go down in history as one of the most corrupt ever and radical reform is needed now to restore trust and legitimacy to our democracy.This has always been there but talking to people just now I am finding that confidence in our democracy is at an all time low. People I have spoken to feel don't feel politicians listen to them and they don't believe what politicians say because so many promises have been broken by successive Tory and Labour governments .There is also huge anger about the way many MPs abused the expenses system which has damaged trust in all politicians. I understand why people are angry and I think it is important to demonstrate to people through my record of action that I am in politics for the right reasons - to help people and make Reading a better place. I work hard and I am not in it for the money! I am pleased that the Power 2010 campaign contains a call to bring in a fairer voting system. One of the reasons I am a Lib Dem is our party's strong commitment to electoral reform - every vote should count. At the last election only 1 in 5 registered voters voted for Labour and we have a government which does not enjoy majority support in the country. This is wrong and it is one of the reasons people often give me when they say they are not voting. It should not be about whether or not you live in a marginal constituency or a 'safe' seat. When it comes to political reform Labour and the Conservatives want to keep the status quo - only the Lib Dems are prepared to change our politics. Only the Lib Dems would give people the right to recall (sack) their MPs - for example.

Meeting residents across the constituency - listening to their concerns

I do my best to make myself as accessible as possible to residents in Reading West constituency and in my ward of Redlands. I think it's important to be visible so people know where to find me and to help people make their minds up about who they want to be their next MP. This is why I use blogs, Twitter and Facebook. I am featured in a new guide to social media as part of a national initiative called '21st Century Councillor' which was published last week. Sadly lots of politicians locally and nationally just don't get social media and for some reason my use of it gets right up their noses - I can't think why. But then I don't use social media for their benefit - I do it to communicate with ordinary people. A lot of politicians would like to keep things as they are in Reading with the same old people running the place. I don't. I also use more traditional forms of communication - writing to people, going round to see people in their homes, chatting to them on the phone etc in my campaigning. I use every type of medium to try to reach out to people and show them I am there for them. Everywhere I go in South and West Reading in the campaign I am finding widespread dissatisfaction with the Labour government and Labour council in Reading. If I was a Labour politician in Reading I would be really worried. That said, I am not finding much love for the Conservatives either. Plenty of people tell me they can't tell the difference between the two parties. People are not convinced by the glossy leaflets flooding through the door from Labour or the Conservatives in the area (many are going straight in the recycling bin!) and they are keen to listen to what the Lib Dems have to say. They say they would like to give the Lib Dems a chance. Many people I have spoken to have not met a politician like me and they say they welcome my 'hands on ' approach. I try to make time to go and see people face to face. I am keen to listen to them and in many cases they tell me I am the only one who has bothered to take their concerns seriously. This is a pity. It was the same when I first got elected as a councillor and people told me I was the only councillor ever to have returned their call (!) I'm delighted to say everywhere I go I am finding people keen to support our campaign and to get involved, which is great.

So what issues are coming up on the doorstep or in my inbox? Well, like it or not the residents I speak to day in day out are frequently raising housing matters- overcrowding is a huge issue with people as is frustration from residents who have been stuck on RBC's council housing waiting lists for months. Labour's service charges are still very unpopular with council tenants I have spoken to. I spoke to a woman last week who lost her home after her buy-to-let landlord couldn't keep up repayments on his mortgage. She had a really tough time and felt she got little or no support from Reading Borough Council or the current Labour MP. I became aware of this issue last year and I campaigned for help and support to be given to people who were affected - the only politician in Reading to do this. Long waits for routine operations is another issue people are raising with me. People contacting me are waiting more than 18 weeks (as promised by Labour) and they are often in a lot of pain. Norman Lamb, Lib Dem Healthspokesperson revealed last week that the number of NHS Managers rose 12% last year compared to nurses only by 2% - this balance seems wrong. Despite what some local Labour politicians are saying many people are continuing to report problems to me connected with the recession - youth unemployment being one of them. They tell me their teenagers are leaving school and not getting the support they need. Anyway, that's all I've got time for now. Catch you soon!