Reading Residents Welcome New Blooms

Long before I became Lead Councillor for Housing I have cared deeply about the need to help to create decent homes and neighbourhoods in Reading. This grew out of my experience as a ward councillor representing one of the most deprived estates in the Borough - Hexham Road.

Since 2006, both in opposition and more recently in administration I have actively campaigned to help create a better local built environment in Reading.

Recently residents from Caversham to Whitley have been in touch with me and colleagues at the Council  to welcome the new spring blooms planted by the Council's housing department on public land and funded by our unique Decent Neighbourhood Fund which are currently adding colour to many estate areas across Reading.

Locally I have led the campaign for estates to receive more attention from the Council after many areas were neglected for many years by Labour councillors.

The Decent Neighbourhoods Fund which I helped create is localism in action: local residents have the power to decided what improvements should be made in their neighbourhood and Housing officers are always keen to hear from residents with ideas.

For example, in Southcote older residents successfully won funding from the Council to create an outdoor gym in their neighbourhood.

                                                                                                         

So why plant flowers? Because plants and flowers make local areas more relaxing, pleasant places for people to live - no question about it.

These photos were sent to me by a resident in Whitley ward who commented:

"Perhaps some of these photos could be used in the Whitley Green Residents Association Newsletter or other Council publications to show that Whitley/Whitley Wood can look very pretty in Spring with the help of the Daffodils in bloom - - - - - - and they have all been left intact for everyone to admire and not vandalised !!"

Daffodils and other plants have been planted all over Reading over the past 18 months, on housing land, including: Elizabeth House, Gosbrook Rd, Wensley Rd, Coley; Whitley Green; Coronation Square, Southcote; Granville Road, Southcote, Swallowfield Drive, Whitley; Hexham Estate, Whitley.

A wildflower meadow is being established, also thanks to decent neighbourhoods, under an apple tree in Brunswick Street. Once completed, the area by the flats will feature a beautiful display of flowers.

Above is a picture of me with members of Emmer Green Residents Association in Peppard who have welcomed the new blooms planted by the Council.

Of the display one resident told the Council:

 "It looks beautiful. It is sheer pleasure to drive past and see the hundreds of daffodils and crocuses in bloom, and to know that now the fences have also been put up so people can't park there, the flowers will be there year after year. I want to thank you so much for lifting the spirits of people in Emmer Green." "

Over the next year the Council will invest a further £400,000 improving neighbourhoods and estates in Reading managed by Reading Borough Council even further. I think this is money well spent and the comments I have received from residents bears this out. Please get in touch if you live on an estate in Reading and have ideas as to how we can improve the look and feel of your neighbourhood.

Southcote benefits from Decent Neighbourhoods Cash

This morning I went to Virginia Way in Southcote to help launch the new 'outdoor gym' which has been built paid for out of the Council's unique Decent Neighbourhoods Fund. This was created following a request from residents in the area. Southcote has an older population than most of Reading so it is important that the Council provides activities for the many older people who live in the area so they can stay active and healthy for as long as possible.
 Residents were involved in selecting the equipment and road-testing it first.
Talking to older residents who came along for the press launch they were delighted to see the new gym in place. It was clear talking to them that this new gym would meet a need in the area and help keep older people active. They told me that at the moment the nearest gym is at Prospect School (and this is not free!).
I spoke to a couple of older ladies about other Council matters and they were really pleased to hear they would be getting a Council Tax freeze - the first for many years.I am so pleased that the Budget we agreed on Tuesday includes £400,000 to be spent in the next financial year on improvements to estates and neighbourhoods across the Borough. How sad that Labour councillors voted against this along with our plans to continue to invest in Council housing across the Borough .
The next area set to benefit from the DNF is the Aveley Walk Play area in Katesgrove - a neglected area that Lib Dem councillors have long campaigned to be improved.

Investing In Decent Neighbourhoods For All

One of the areas of housing policy I am most passionate about is around improving the quality of life of residents - regardless of where the live and what type of housing they live in, but particularly those residents living in areas that have been neglected for whatever reason.

I first became interested in this when I was first elected and I noticed areas of Reading including my own ward which were rundown and in need of some TLC - in part because the then Labour-controlled Council focussed on meeting Decent Homes targets and forgot about improving estate areas.

In particular I am thinking of Hexham Road which until we began campaigning was largely overlooked by the then three Labour councillors and Labour-run Council. As I blogged in 2008 over on my ward blog:

"There is no doubt that the whole estate is in need of urgent regeneration. With the Council's focus on meeting the government's target on decent homes, it's hard to know where the investment will come from. It's certainly something I will continue to campaign for as much as I can, as I think decent neighbourhoods are as important as decent homes.

As we we walked round we noticed that there was evidence of vandalism inside the flat blocks on Hexham Road, but thankfully less of the graffiti that had been a problem last year. It seems too easy for yobs to get into the flats, break glass and do damage inside the blocks. The Council's attitude seems to be "there's no point repairing things as they will just get damaged again' I don't think this is the right thing to do by local residents who have to live in the blocks. Everyone deserves to live in a pleasant environment - particularly if the accommodation is owned by the local council.'

It was around this time I developed the idea behind decent neighbourhoods. Between 2006 and 2008 I campaigned both in and outside the Council Chamber around the theme of improving estate areas which had been neglected by Labour. 

In 2009 the then Labour-run Council bowed to pressure from me and other Lib Dems and created a new funding stream from the Housing Revenue Account to fund estate improvements in areas where the majority of housing stock in Council-owned and managed. Since then this money has funded a number of improvements in estates across the Borough including Hexham Road estate in my ward where the fund contributed to new trees and bulbs being planted to improve the look and feel of the estate.

Other works funded by the Council's Decent Neighbourhoods Fund include:-

• The youth development project at Hexham Road
• Landscaping projects in Caversham, Southcote, Coley and Whitley
• An anti cycle/motor bike chicane has been installed at Hexham Road,
• Additional street lighting in Whitley Wood and Southcote
• Improvements at Aveley Walk play park.

The work that has been undertaken has been done in close consultation with ward councillors and residents so it is not about imposing the Council's vision on a neighbourhood - quite the opposite.

In my role as Lead Member for Housing, I am delighted in building our budget we have been able to keep our commitment to improving estates.  In the coming year we will be investing £400,000 in this important work to improve local neighbourhoods. This is not something we have to do as a Council but I think it is very important and demonstrates our committment to improving the quality of life of residents in all our neighbourhoods.

The next area to benefit is Southcote where a new bespoke outdoor gym is being constructed. This follows a consultation with residents which identified a need for healthier activities for residents in their locality.

If you live on an estate in Reading and have an idea for something to improve your local environment please contact me and I would be happy to pass ideas on to the Neighbourhood Team.

Better services, better value, better neighbourhoods

Yesterday I attended the Council's Cabinet meeting where I responded to two petitions from residents in Dee Park and Coley Park concerned about changes to the Neighbourhood Warden service. One petition requested that the Cabinet reverse its decision in favour of 'maintaining' services organised by Labour. To do this would represent a failure to deliver the services residents across the Borough have consistently asked for, and a failure to deliver services that demonstrate value for money for taxpayers - so unnacceptable to us on both counts.
Cabinet took the decision to redesign the service earlier this year following a review of neighbourhood services across housing and environment teams. At the time of taking the decision there was cross-party support for a more joined-up service which suggests current opposition to the changes by some Labour councillors is perhaps more redolent of political opportunism than anything else. So far, so predictable.
The decision to change the service was taken to deliver better value for money and better service for residents across the Borough - something we committed to doing in our local coaliton agreement with the Conservatives. And it is pretty clear from surveys carried out by the Council that services in some key areas need to improve in line with public expectation.
I understand the genuine concerns raised by residents, however, they should not see a detirioriation in their neighbourhoods but hopefully an improvement through reduced anti-social behaviour and environmental problems. My colleagues and I will of course be monitoring the changes at local level to ensure this happens.
Last night, in presenting their petitions several residents raised the 'reassuring' presence of wardens on the estate. This is a testament to the hard work done by those individuals - and as a ward councillor I have seen this at close quarters in Hexham Road. We are grateful to the wardens, indeed to all Council staff who work hard to keep our estates and neighbourhoods safe.
However, it would be wrong to suggest that wardens alone are the only way in which community reassurance and support can be provided. Since wardens were first introduced they have been joined and supported by a number of individuals from the Council, local Neighbourhood Police teams and the public carrying out walkabouts and other estate-based activites. So, estate inspections by Council officers and others at local level will continue, ensuring communities continue to be supported.
It's also worth pointing out that the changes followed a review of neighbourhood services that was initiated under the previous Labour administration. As with many policy areas across the Council's activities, Labour councillors have not indicated what they would have done in response to their own review. Nor, if they were to continue to provide these services how they would pay for it.
In addition to identifying duplication, the review found that there was a pressing need to focus resources more effectively on issues that are a priority to residents across the Borough: namely tackling anti-social behaviour and environmental issues.
My Lib Dem colleagues and I have been campaigning for years to get the Council to respond more effectively to these two issues in particular. This is based on regular feedback we have had from residents. Our informal findings were backed up by Council surveys which put cleaner streets and action on anti-social behaviour as two of the highest priorities. For years, the previous Labour administration shamefully ignored public calls for action on these issues. Even when the powers existed to take action at local level, Labour did not empower staf t use them. We are committed to delivering more responsive services.
The third theme in our local coalition agreement is about building on and improving the sense of pride in our neighbourhoods and communities, making them more pleasant places to live. One of the key aspects of the new approach to neighbourhood services goes under the heading 'no one walks past a problem' - in short this means extending enforcement powers to more officers at street level to tackle issues. For years we have been campaigning up for a more joined-up approach to enforcement in Reading, including action to reduce dog fouling to improve the quality of our neighbourhoods. Following the changes approved by the Coalition administatration of the Council more officers will have the power to fine people who let their dogs cause a mess in public places. Under the previous regime, promoted by Labour councillors, no-one was penalised for this offence.
As one of the people who has led the campaign in Reading for decent neighbourhoods I will continue to fight to ensure residents in estates get the best possible services and that as far as possible the services the Council provides respond in the most effective way to problems communities face at local level.

Campaigning for a cleaner, greener Whitley

This afternoon local campaigner Roy Haines and I went to meet to Tom Lendrum, Whitley resident and Chair of the South Whitley Neighbourhood Action Group. I know Tom through my role as Chair of the South Reading Safer Community Forum which deals with crime and anti-social behaviour issues.

Tom wrote to me recently as he is totally fed up with the amount of dog mess in Whitley - on pavements and in green spaces. and he's also fed up with the apparent lack of action by Labour-run Reading Borough Council on this issue.

And he's not the only person in Whitley who is annoyed about this: last year the Council carried out a survey of South Reading residents and dog fouling came out as the number one issue! So why hasn't the Council done anything about this problem? Let's be clear about this: allowing a dog to foul in a public place is illegal. Most people know it's illegal but the lack of enforcement gives people the impression they will get away this - and the reality is they probably will.

And Council do have powers to take action on this issue - under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005 which came into force few years ago. These include the power to issue fixed penalty notices. Sadly figures released by the Keep Britain Tidy campaign last week found that across the UK dog fouling that was previously in decline has risen back to 2005/6 levels - which begs the question is this legislation (brought in by Labour) working?

Tom is involved in the Neighbourhood Watch scheme on Heroes Walk. You get a good view of the local park from his house. "42 dog walkers use this park every day" he told me. He sees them arriving - some use the dog waste bins provided by the Council, but many do not. We joined him for a walk around the park.The additional bins have helped (as they have helped in Cintra Park where I have been campaigning for action), but the lack of enforcement action overall means that the park is still dirty as many owners fail to clean up after their pets.

Last year, Tom got so frustrated at the amount of mess in his neighbourhood he wrote to all 47 Reading Borough councillors individually. He told me he got less than ten replies (and none at all from the Conservative councillors). My colleague Cllr Kirsten Bayes responded to Tom at the time on behalf of the Lib Dem Group. I dug out her response and read it again today:

"Dog fouling is clearly a significant issue in the Borough. Over the last couple of months, I have raised this concern twice with the Council on behalf of residents, once regarding a pathway to Cintra Park, and also regarding pathways on the Hexham Estate (these being in the Redlands Ward which I represent).

My colleagues Cllr Benson and Goodall have also raised similar concerns, in particular regarding Cintra Park - Cllr Benson has been campaigning for some time on this issue. As well as being unsanitary and unhealthy, dog fouling also serves to make pathways and open areas unusable, which especially affects children, the elderly and people with movement difficulties. We have been campaigning to keep all footways clean and clear of obstructions, and regularly survey residents to find out where problem areas exist."

Kirsten followed up her response with a question to Council. At the March meeting of the Council last year she asked the Lead Member for the Environment:

"What is the Council doing to tackle the problem of dog fouling in the Borough, and how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for this offence?"

The reply Kirsten received revealed that only ONE fixed pentalty notice had been issued by the Council since it first had the power to fine offenders.

I am not calling on the Council to suddenly start fining people but it's time the Council made it clear to the public that they took this problem seriousl. For example they could increase dog warden patrols in South Reading, monitor dog fouling levels and install additional bins etc. Fines should be a last resort but they do need to be used sometimes to get the message across that this is a crime. I have tabled the same question to Council that Kirsten asked last year to be answered at our next meeting to find out what Labour are doing about this problem. If this is the number one issue for people living in South Reading why is Labour ignoring it? I think local people deserve a proper answer.From Tom's point of view and it seems from the point of view of the vast majority of people who responded to the recent South Reading survey last year the problem of dog fouling in Reading is a real one and it is getting worse. And they don't think Labour think it is a priority.

Dog fouling might seem like a minor issue but it has a big impact on how people feel about their neighbourhood and by extension their quality of life. It's one of those things like litter, graffiti and fly-tipping that make neighbourhoods feel rundown and depressing: so it should matter to politicians!It's about time the Labour councillors running Reading Borough Council listened to local people like Tom Lendrum and did something about this problem: enough is enough!

I built my reputation as a local councillor by campaigning for a cleaner and greener Redlands. Visit my blog for more details of my campaigns in this area. As Reading West PPC for the Lib Dems I will make it my business to campaign for cleaner and greener neighbourhoods across Reading West constituency for the benefit of residents. As part of this, I have signed up as a supporter of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign - you can here. And If you live in Whitley or any other part of Reading West and you have concerns about the cleanliness of your neighbourhood Roy and I would like to hear from you. Please get in touch!

Championing higher standards in and around private rented housing in Reading

Regular readers of my Redlands blog will know that I have been actively campaigning along with my Lib Dem colleagues for several years to get Labour-run Reading Borough Council to address issues connected with the private rented sector and Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
This week I welcomed news that the Labour government has listened to councils and councillors and has amended the law so that planning permission will soon be required to turn a house into an HMO. This is something that required action at a national level. As a ward councillor I have picked up many complaints from residents over the years about family homes being turned into HMOs and neighbourhoods changing out of all recognition in some parts of Town.
My starting point for all my campaigns has been my ward (Redlands) which has a high number of student lets and Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) but really the more I have investigated the issues the more I have learned that the private rented sector (PRS) is a significant of Reading's entire housing sector - not just in East Reading but parts of South and West Reading too.


With a massive shortage of affordable housing in Reading and a long housing waiting list the private rented sector is performing a vital role: providing cheap housing for many individuals and families - and thereby relieving pressure on the limited amount of housing association and Council-owned housing stock.

However, what concerns me is that the majority of so-called 'non-decent' housing in Reading is in this sector and when things go wrong it can be difficult for tenants and residents to get action taken.

So why I have spent so much of my time campaigning for a better quality private rented sector in Reading? Some facts about the sector (source: RBC):

• 27% of Reading's population lives in the PRS (compared to around 11% nationally)


• There is a higher proportion of older terraces (pre-1910) and flats in Reading than the rest of the UK


• 6.9% of properties Reading are HMOs compared to the national average of around 2%


• 22% of houses in the PRS do not meet the national 'Decent Homes' standards (due to poor thermal efficiency)


• 18% of the PRS are on Housing Benefit and occupy a disproportionate amount of non-decent properties


• Non-decent properties are associated with heads of households that are under 24 or over 60, especially those above 85


• The majority of empty homes are located within the private rented sector
  

Who lives in Reading's private rented sector? Answer = a whole range of different people - including a number of vulnerable groups:

• Young professionals


• Students


• People claiming Housing Benefit


• So-called 'slum rentals'


• Tied housing


• High-income renters


• Immigrants


• Asylum seekers


• People living in temporary accommodation

Where is the majority of Reading's private rented housing? :(Data by ward - source RBC, October 2008):

• Abbey: 3263


• Katesgrove: 1849


• Battle: 1714


• Redlands: 1677


• Park: 1515


• Minster: 1415


• Caversham: 1052


• Norcot: 960


• Church: 965


• Whitley: 662


• Kentwood: 654
  

One of the big issues in many parts of Reading is the growth of Houses of Multiple Occupation - HMOs. This has brought with it a range of problems including waste management, parking and hazards for tenants. The number of HMOs has grown in recent years and the Labour government has been slow to respond (see above).

Legislation was brought in a few years ago to enable councils to licence some HMOs (but not all of them) but councils have until now had very limited powers to restrict the number of HMOs and this has been a cause of frustration for residents living in some parts of Reading where people feel the balance between HMOs and other types of housing is wrong.

The majority of HMOs in Reading are currently in Park (356), Redlands (291), Abbey ward (253), followed by Katesgrove (231) and Battle (212) (data: RBC, 2008).

My campaigning for better standards in the private rented sector has been very successful so far:

• The joint scrutiny review into the private rented sector I led last year with Lib Dem Cllr Ricky Duveen, Chair of the Environment Scrutiny Panel was the first in depth look at the sector for many years


• As part of the review we held a highly-successful 'Have Your Say' event and my innovative use of Facebook to get as many students, tenants and landlords involved as possible
• It resulted in a range of policy improvements and additional investment by the Labour administration to be focussed on improving standards


• Our scrutiny review which attracted cross-Party support recommended that the landlord accreditation should be revived to give greater security to students and tenants. I'm pleased to say as a result of our campaigning a review of the scheme is now underway
• The cross-cutting nature of our scrutiny review has made joined-up enforcement action connected to dealing with issues in the PRS across Council departments (such as Planning and Streetcare) more effective


• The way I used social media to engage people led to me being nominated for a Lib Dem Voice award and being featured in The Times.
  

But my campaign to raise the profile of issues in this 'Cinderella' sector did not stop there. When I presented the findings of our review at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet in Reading last year I was adamant that it should not be left on a shelf to gather dust. The review had to be a first step on the path to triggering further action:

• Our scrutiny review has already had a major impact on the Council's Housing Strategy 2009 -2014 which was adopted last October. Labour-run RBC has at last acknowledged that the private rented sector plays an absolutely central role in Reading's housing market but it must be actively supported and improved if this sector is going to be brought up to 'Decent Homes' standard.
• Recently I have campaigned to highlight the plight of thousands of tenants in Reading who face eviction when buy-to-let landlords ran into difficulty during the recent recession.
• And we are due to receive a report to HHCC Scrutiny Panel and the Environment Panel next month reviewing the impact of the review and the impact of the recent additional investment.

With thousands of people living in rented housing or next to it in Reading it's essential that politicians continue to engage with the issues connected with PRS not just now but in the years ahead. I will keep on campaigning to make sure this happens.

Campaigning for a fair deal for Council tenants

It may not have generated many headlines but the Labour administration's decision to put the rent up on Reading Borough Council properties will hit many Council tenants - namely those who are not in receipt of benefits and who account around 30% of all RBC tenants (there are around 7,300 Council tenants in total).

As Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Panel in Reading I been actively monitoring the impact on the recession on residents in Reading over the past year to ensure people who needed help were getting it from the Council, and a couple of sad things this study revealed was the increase over the past year of number of people accessing RBC debt services, and claiming financial support to help them meet their housing costs.

As I said in a Council meeting when the issue of the proposed rent increase was debated a few weeks ago - it is with a heavy heart that as a political Party we, the Lib Dems, lend our support to plans to increase charges for some of Reading's poorest families many of them just living above or on the poverty line.

But thanks to the way that successive Conservative and Labour governments have messed up housing finance RBC is left between a rock and a hard place when it comes to securing the future of council-owned housing stock. The Council is forced to charge tenants more because government keeps taking money away from councils like Reading to spend elsewhere.

We do not and should not point the finger of blame at Council officers who are struggle to balance the books in the Council's housing department: the failure to reform our arcane system of housing finance is a failure of this Labour government over a period of years.

The same Labour government which has abandoned its commitment to fairness and demonstrated time and time again through its own policies that is is not on the side of the poorest, including Council tenants.

As Nick Clegg has said repeatedly: the only Party that is genuinely committed to fairness for all is the Liberal Democrats.

The way council housing is currently funded is unfair on councils but more importantly it's unfair on council tenants. The way that council housing finance is centrally controlled by government makes it impossible for councils to have any real power or autonomy over their own spending and by extension limits this limits power they have to set rents and manage their own housing stock.

Alongside my Lib Dem colleagues on Reading Borough Council, as housing spokesperson I have campaigned for many years for an end to the system of so-called 'negative subsidy' - an unfair tax on Council tenants.

The sad fact of the matter is that were it not for the millions of pounds worth of rent RBC is forced to pay back to the Treasury every year there would be no need for the Council to increase the rent.

The Lib Dems would like to see the cash raised by local councils through rent spent on improving council housing stock in local areas and on building more new council houses - not subsidising government spending elsewhere.

This time last year we won backing from Labour and Tory councillors in Reading for our campaign for action to reform our rotten council housing finance system.

And nationally reform is on its way, apparently, but the government's 'change of heart' will not bring change soon enough for tenants here in Reading or anywhere else. A consultation was launched by Labour nationally but nothing will happen this side of the General Election or this financial year. So the rent has gone up.

Service Charges

Problems for tenants do not end with rent increases. Thanks to the way Labour has structured finance nationally RBC has been forced to start charging tenants extra for services they used to receive as part of their rent.

I succeeded in getting officers to delay plans to introduce charges after the Labour administration got itself into a bit of muddle just before Christmas in a botched consultation. The new charges for lighting in communal areas are set to come in in April.

Several tenants contacted me recently angry about Labour's charging plans. One tenant wrote:

"It is clear to me that these charges represent just another tax on the hardworking families that the Labour government - and Labour-dominated Reading Borough Council claim they want to help."

A report going to Cabinet next week reveals 55 tenants have written to RBC saying they oppose the plans to vary tenancies to allow Labour to introduce service charges.

Higher rent and service charges will make life even more difficult for tenants who are in arrears. RBC plans to send out leaflets with all the rent increase letters to encourage tenants to "contact the rent service if they experience any problems paying their rent."

I challenged the Labour Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Deborah Edwards, at the last full Council meeting about the way the Labour-administration treats tenants who fall behind with rent payments.

Does threatening tenants who fail to pay their rent on time constitute support, I asked. I quoted from an incredibly crass article which featured in the Council Tax Payer funded December edition of Housing News entitled "Rent comes first: Don't be Ho, Ho, Homeless this Christmas"

Cllr Edwards failed to apologise publicly to tenants for the article despite my requests for her to do so, choosing instead to attack those tenants who contacted me who were deeply offended by the article for being "thin-skinned".

Is this what people expected when they voted Labour all those years ago? On seeing the article one tenant commented to me:

"This is the sort of thing you might expect from a Tory Council, not a Labour one!

But as Sarah Teather, Lib Dem Housing Spokesperson pointed out in her speech at our Party's Federal Conference last year the Conservatives have no plans to do things differently if they form the next government:

"Blue-red, red-blue, Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown what’s the difference?

That’s why the Tories won’t change any Labour policies – because they’re all Tory policies in the first place."

But it's not all doom and gloom. I'm really pleased to see the Labour-administration have pledged the continuation and extension of the so-called Decent Neighbourhoods Fund in Reading over the next financial year. Investment in the infrastructure of housing estates in Reading is something I have actively championed and campaigned for over a period of years.

To the frustration of tenants and residents, Labour in Reading have taken their eye off the ball and allowed estates to become rundown and neglected in their headlong rush to chase 'Decent Homes' targets. Decent homes are important but so are our neighbourhoods: people want to live in clean and safe areas - and I think they have a right to expect that their Council will work to keep them that way.

I have seen the tangible benefits that investment in estate areas can bring communities on an estate in my own ward - Hexham Road. As PPC for Reading West I will campaign for estates across West Reading and West Berkshire to benefit from the same investment, and the same improved quality of life for the benefit of residents who live on them.

Campaigning for decent homes for all

Housing - lack of good quality, affordable housing - is something that I care deeply about as anyone who knows me will tell you.

I spend a lot of time on housing casework because I think it's some of the most important work I do as a local councillor and because I have seen the difference better housing makes to people.

I feel good about campaigning for better housing and the more I do the more I realise the amount of work that needs to be done before everyone in Reading is able to live in what you and I would consider decent accommodation.

Good housing can transform someone's life chances - and bad housing can cause irreparable damage too.

A good home - a place where you can be safe, happy and comfortable - something many of us take for granted - is something I think everyone in Reading and everyone in Britain should have a basic right to.

I have been Lib Dem housing spokesperson on Reading Borough Council since 2006 and I have campaigned extensively for better standards in both the private rented sector and social housing (mainly council-owned properties) in Reading.

People who have been along to Council meetings where housing is on the agenda will have grown used to hearing me getting a bit steamed up about housing issues in Reading.

No doubt Labour and Tory councillors alike are sick of me banging on about bad housing (and Labour's bad track record) but I will continue to go on about this stuff as long as people keep on contacting me with their housing problems and I have breath in my body.

A Labour councillor accused me last week in Council of changing my tune since I've become a PPC.

As if!!

I haven't suddenly got worked up about housing because I'm now a prospective parliamentary candidate: I've been bothered about bad housing in Reading ever since I was first elected.

Labour-run RBC has neglected all types of housing over the years - this is something which surprised me when I first began campaigning because I thought Labour politicians were supposed to care about affordable housing.

Labour councillors have allowed developers to fill the Town centre with hundreds of executive rabbit-hutches but they have failed to build the type of housing local people actually need.

But housing is not just about bricks and mortar: neighbourhoods matter too, and I've campaigned long and hard to get estates made cleaner, greener and safer.

Why should the quality of life for residents living on estates be any less good than other residents? I think everyone has a right to live in a decent neighbourhood.

Labour's pursuit of the nationally-driven "decent homes" agenda has meant that council estates in many parts of Reading have been allowed to become rundown and blighted by anti-social behaviour. This is a direct result of a serious lack of investment in the right things over a period of years.

I persuaded Labour to back my plan for a 'Decent Neighbourhoods Fund' - a pot of money to improve estates in Reading. I've seen the benefits this can bring in my own backyard - on Hexham estate where genuine community-involvement is driving improvement from the ground up (not Labour's failed top-down approach).

I want everyone living on an estate in Reading to see the improvements we have seen on Hexham Road come to their area. The residents of Dee Park have had to wait too long and many tenants in other estates in Reading are still waiting for improvements.

After the millions spent by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair's governments in our name this really isn't good enough.

And its not just estates that have problems in Reading. Areas with large amounts of private rented housing - and HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) also have their fair share of problems - conversions without proper planning permission, overflowing bins, parking issues.

All these things make parts of Reading less appealing places to live. And this should matter to politicians.

I dedicated a large amount of my time and energy last year to getting the Labour-run Council in Reading to focus some effort into the much-neglected private rented housing sector.

The scrutiny review I led was very successful - we won £120,000 worth of investment in improving the sector and got officers to focus on finding solutions to the problems faced by tenants and residents living in parts of town with lots of HMOs.

More recently I campaigned for help for tenants in private rented housing who face eviction due to problems faced by buy-to-let landlords in the recession. I'm pleased to see that this issue is now getting more attention from MPs in Parliament.

For details of the housing campaigns I've run over the past four years check out my ward blog.

Anyway, back to today and I was alarmed by a report published by campaigning charity, Shelter, today which has found concrete evidence that lack of affordable housing in the UK is literally tearing families apart.

Shelter's study found:

- 1.5 million adults saying they are unable to look after their elderly parents because they can’t afford to live near them.

- 1.5 million grandparents say they are missing out on helping take care of their grandchildren because their own children can’t afford to live close by.

- One in ten parents believe their children want to live closer to them but are unable to due to soaring housing costs.

-22 per cent of 18-34 year olds stated that they were still living at home, with 45 per cent of these people blaming high housing costs.

- Over 50% this group reported that developing and maintaining relationships was harder because of living at home with their parents.

I see evidence of this everyday in my ward and across Reading.

So what does the housing crisis look like in Reading in statistics?

Questions I posed last year revealed:

• 5,000 people waiting for Council housing


• Average wait time for a three bed Council/RSL property in Reading: 20 months


• Average wait time for a four bed Council property in Reading: 22 months

Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of people young and old desperate to get access to better housing for themselves and their families.

I'm not blaming the Council officers, they do their best to help people get further up the ladder but their simply aren't enough houses to go round. The blame for the chronic shortage of social homes to rent being built in Reading lies squarely at the door of the Labour government which has failed to deliver on it's promise of decent homes for all, by failing to allow councils to build enough council houses for their communities.

I am particularly concerned about the number of families living in overcrowded accommodation so I have commissioned a scrutiny review into this particular problem to report back to HHCC Scrutiny Panel soon. I have led a campaign in Reading for more affordable family-sized homes to rent to help reduce the number of families who are currently overcrowded.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the radical Lib Dem plan to turn the thousands of empty homes in Britain into much needed homes to rent for people on low incomes.

I will continue to campaign to keep housing high up the local political agenda in Reading - even if Labour and the Tories would prefer not to talk about it.

I am supporting Inside Housing magazine's House Proud campaign to get housing on the national political agenda at the forthcoming General Election. Please add your name to the petition to ensure that the housing crisis is the focus of all the major parties' attentions in the coming weeks.