Leeds North West CLP affiliates to Labour Campaign for Council Housing

At it’s recent meeting Leeds North West CLP passed the following housing resolution which included affiliating to our campaign.

“This CLP welcomes the recognition by Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, that Council housing is a vital element of any credible plan to tackle the UK’s housing crisis.

It welcomes the recent announcement of £2 billion for social and affordable housing. However, to improve the quality of existing council homes and ensure delivery of new social homes at the scale needed, we call upon the Government to:

• Fund the building or acquisition of 150,000 social rent homes a year, including 100,000 council homes;
• End the Right to Buy (as in Scotland and Wales) to stop the further damaging loss of council houses;
• Direct all Affordable Homes Grant to providing “social rent” properties;
• Promote Direct Labour Organisations thereby in-sourcing a crucial service and providing well paid, unionised jobs and apprenticeships;
• End the freezing of the Local Housing Allowance and fully fund councils for the cost of temporary accommodation;
• Ensure rent increases are no higher than inflation to protect low income tenants;
• Review council housing ‘debt’ to enable councils to invest more of their Housing Revenue Account in improving their housing stock;
• Provide the emergency funding requested by councils in their “Securing the Future of Council Housing” submission.
• Fund the decarbonisation of existing council housing, minimise the carbon footprint and make non-carbon heating compulsory for new homes.

In furtherance of the above we resolve:

1) to write to Angela Rayner to express these views;

2) to request our Labour MP to raise these matters with her and report back to this CLP

3) to affiliate to the Labour Campaign for Council Housing (£30);

4) to refer this motion to our Local Government Committee seeking its approval and

requesting that it be circulated to delegating organisations for their support.”