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Housing plans set to be unveiled Housing plans call for better mix
(about 2 hours later)
A report on the future of council housing is expected to recommend ways of creating more mixed communities to tackle inner-city deprivation. Moving some council homes out of the poorest neighbourhoods may help reduce deprivation, a government-commissioned review says.
The government-commissioned review, by John Hills of the London School of Economics, aims to help prevent people becoming trapped living on estates. John Hills, of the London School of Economics, called for a greater mix of social and private homes.
But supporters of council houses fear tenants will face an uncertain future. But he said ending security of tenure would be "very unhelpful" and tenants should be "incentivised" to move on,
The government insisted there were "no plans" to end the role of social housing as a "safety net". Nearly half of social housing is in the most deprived areas and unemployment rates are twice the national average.
About five million UK households rent from local authorities or registered landlords, but the government says it wants to expand the opportunity of home ownership to more people. The government has said there are "no plans" to end the role of social housing as a "safety net".
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly told the BBC: "It's very, very clear to me that we could do more for social tenants who are currently in their own homes." 'Neighbourhood effects'
Earlier this month, she proposed that social housing tenants could be helped to get on the property ladder by reducing the minimum stake they can buy from 25% to 10%. But it expects pressures on social housing to grow, with more single people needing homes and, as the gap between house prices and incomes grows, fewer tenants buying their own homes.
There was a need to "accelerate the pace of improvement", Ms Kelly added. The type of council tenant has changed, it found, with more likely to be on very low incomes, or not in work at all.
It's healthy - in the way society works - for there to be a mix Professor Hills
People of working age in social housing were twice as likely to be unemployed than the average person - partly due to the "neighbourhood effects" of living in deprived areas, such as welfare dependency and the difficulty of moving house.
Professor Hills said social housing played a "crucial role" in the lives of 4m households.
"But the evidence is that we are not realising its full potential," he said.
Social housing had been intended to avoid having "rich people on one side of the tracks and poorer people on the other side of the tracks", he said.
But communities had become polarised over the decades.
Rebuild estates
He argued that private estates had gained from social landlords moving in and renovating run-down properties.
"This isn't a one-way thing," he said. "And it's healthy - in the way society works - for there to be a mix."
And he said in some cases, there was no alternative but to rebuild the worst estates, although it was costly and caused much upheaval.
Our housing estates need a mix of backgrounds and incomes if we're to build and preserve genuine communities. Dan RogersonLiberal Democrat housing spokesmanOur housing estates need a mix of backgrounds and incomes if we're to build and preserve genuine communities. Dan RogersonLiberal Democrat housing spokesman
But the Conservatives said the current system for selling council homes to tenants was "needlessly bureaucratic". He also called for more choice for social housing tenants, including more help for them to buy their own homes and regular reviews of their circumstances, to see if they were able to buy a stake in their homes.
But he said tenants needed to be encouraged, not forced to move on.
"A threat to the security of tenure of existing tenants who have taken it for granted would be controversial, to say the least," he said.
"It would also have some side effects which could reinforce some of the key problems."
The government says it wants to expand the opportunity of home ownership to more social housing tenants.
Responding to the report, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly said building more social housing was a priority.
But she added: "The Hills review confronts us with other challenges: how can social housing be even better at achieving the twin goals of providing support to those who most need it while also equipping people to progress and get on with their lives".
The Conservatives say the current system for selling council homes to tenants was "needlessly bureaucratic".
Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "Talk of time-limits and means-testing for social housing tenants would not be an issue if the government stuck to its guns and devolved greater powers over housing to local councils and local people."Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "Talk of time-limits and means-testing for social housing tenants would not be an issue if the government stuck to its guns and devolved greater powers over housing to local councils and local people."
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Social housing provides a vital safety net for some of the most vulnerable in society - there are no plans to change this." Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Dan Rogerson said it was important not to "deter people from working or push them off estates where they are happy and established".
However, the report is said to include proposals for means testing tenants. If their incomes rise they could lose their cheap rents.
Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Dan Rogerson said means testing would "either deter people from working or push them off estates where they are happy and established".
"Our housing estates need a mix of backgrounds and incomes if we're to build and preserve genuine communities.""Our housing estates need a mix of backgrounds and incomes if we're to build and preserve genuine communities."