Housing regeneration bill welcomed by Unite
Friday, 16 November 2007
12:00 AM
Unite, Britain's largest union, today welcomed the publication of the Housing Regeneration Bill which pledges 3 million new affordable homes by 2020.
"Gordon Brown has listened to the millions struggling to buy or rent a home," said Jack Dromey, Unite deputy general secretary.
Welcoming the promise to make it easier for councils to build council homes, Mr. Dromey added, "Council house building has collapsed from three hundred thousand to three hundred a year in a generation.
"The prejudice of Whitehall against town hall is now being replaced with a recognition of the key strategic role of councils as a builder and provider of affordable homes for rent," he continued. "Real progress is being made but further progress will be necessary at the next stages on a greater level playing field."
"Homes for all is now centre stage," concluded Mr. Dromey. But, he warned, the mistakes of the past must not be repeated.
"Never again crumbling council houses in ghetto estates, the high rise nightmares of the 1960s," he said. "Instead, well designed homes, green homes, homes in mixed communities with good facilities, rural homes as well as homes in towns and cities. Council homes so good that to walk down the road in any street in Britain in future is to be unable to tell the difference between council homes and private."
ENDS
Unite, which was formed on 1st May 2007 from a merger of amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G)
For further information please call the Unite Press Office on 020 7611 2550
Andrew Dodgshon
Unite Press Office
020 7611 2550
07976 832156
adodgshon@tgwu.org.uk
Disclaimer: Press releases published on this page are from key opinion formers
who promote their organisation's activities by subscribing to a campaign site within
politics.co.uk. politics.co.uk does not endorse, edit, or attempt to balance the
opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases are wholly the responsibility
of the originating company or organisation.
Government plans to build three million new homes before 2020 were furthered today with the publication of the housing and regeneration bill.
Proposals to force council housing tenants to move once their circumstances improve have been condemned by housing experts.
US president welcomed by Royals
Plans to reform the tax credit system to make it more flexible and reduce the scope for overpayments have been broadly welcomed by campaigners.
Key players give their responses to Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations outside the QEII conference centre in central London.
Government-led initiatives to revive deprived areas have been "high risk" and achieved mixed results, the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.
The backlash against a report which called for people to move from poor northern cities to London has triggered a massive backlash from the Conservative party, which has close links with the thinktank which produced it.
Business groups have broadly welcomed the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates on hold this month.
Opposition to the controversial ID cards scheme has intensified following an admission by a home office minister that their advantages may have been "oversold".
Currently celebrating its centenary as a city and its 50-year anniversary as capital of Wales, Cardiff is the youngest capital city in Europe. A forward-looking and dynamic city where sport and the arts flourish, Cardiff has seen a renaissance in recent years.
