Suffolk councils join forces to urge government to save council homes

03/09/24

Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils support five-point action plan being put to the Government.

Four Suffolk councils have joined forces with more than 100 others in England to call for the new government to save council homes.

Today, at an event held in Westminster, an unprecedented cross-party coalition of over 100 council landlords will jointly publish five solutions for the government to ‘secure the future of England’s council housing’.

The coalition, including Mid Suffolk District Council, Babergh District Council, East Suffolk Council and Ipswich Borough Council, warn that England’s council housing system is broken and that urgent action is needed for the government to deliver its housing promises.

In July, 20 of the largest council landlords published an interim summary of their recommendations. Significant traction – including an urgent meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister - has led to over 80 more councils, including four in Suffolk, backing their recommendations and signing the final report.

This more detailed report, led by Southwark Council with contributions from housing policy experts Toby Lloyd and Rose Grayston, sets out a full roadmap to renew our country’s council housing over the next decade and critical policy changes for the realisation of the new government’s social housing ambitions.

It explains how an unsustainable financial model and erratic national policy changes have squeezed council’s housing budgets and sent costs soaring. New analysis from Savills shows they will face a £2.2bn ‘black hole’ by 2028.

They warn that unless more is done soon, most council landlords will struggle to maintain their existing homes adequately or meet the huge new demands to improve them, let alone build new homes for social rent. Across the country development projects are being cancelled and delayed, with huge implications for the local construction sector, jobs and housing market.

Rather than increasing supply, the reality is that some councils will have no option but to sell more of their existing stock to finance investment in an ever-shrinking portfolio of council homes.

The recommendations include urgent action to restore lost income and unlock local authority capacity to work with the new government to deliver its promises for new, affordable homes throughout the country.

The five solutions set out detailed and practical recommendations to the new government:

A new fair and sustainable HRA model – including an urgent £644 million one-off rescue injection, and long-term, certain rent and debt agreements.
Reforms to unsustainable Right to Buy policies
Removing red tape on existing funding
A new, long-term Green & Decent Homes Programme
Urgent action to restart stalled building projects, avoiding the loss of construction sector capacity and a market downturn

They make up a plan for a ‘decade of renewal’, with local authorities and central government working together to get ‘Housing Revenue Accounts’ (HRAs) back on stable foundations, bring all homes up to modern and green standards, and deliver the next generation of council homes.

Cllr Richard Winch, Mid Suffolk District Council cabinet member for Housing and Property, said: “Our tenants are our priority. We want to invest in desperately needed new council properties, ensure our repairs and maintenance service is robust, and make our existing homes more energy efficient.

“But funding for council homes is heading towards a cliff edge, threatening the good progress we have made. We’ve had to use reserves to plug the gaps in our housing budget, and this is unsustainable. This is a national problem caused by a broken funding model. By working with other councils, we are sending a clear message to the government that urgent action is needed.”

Cllr Jessie Carter, Babergh District Council cabinet member for Housing, said: “We must ensure we can continue to provide safe and warm homes for our tenants long into the future, as well as investing in the new council properties that are needed in the Babergh district. However, it will become increasingly difficult within the existing financial constraints.
“This action plan can make a huge difference, and we strongly urge the government to work with local authorities to solve this crisis.”

Cllr David Beavan, East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We welcome the fact that this new government is taking the housing crisis seriously. What we need is more houses that people can afford to live in, not necessarily just more houses.

“Here in East Suffolk, we are staging a Housing Day at the end of September which will see the beginning of our long term strategy to solve the crisis in our district, and we are raring to go.”

Cllr Alasdair Ross, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “Today's report marks a pivotal moment for the future of council housing in England. With over 100 council landlords from communities nationwide coming together, we are sending a clear and unified message: the challenge is too vast to be addressed at the local level alone, but the opportunities for positive change are equally great.

“By embracing the necessary reforms, we can not only safeguard the future of council housing but also ensure that every family in England has access to a safe, affordable, and decent home.”