Category: UNISON Campaign

‘A Manifesto for Council Housing’ Congress House, London.

Throughout the conference every speaker recognised the good work that Alan Walter had done to defend council housing prior to his untimely death. Speakers in the first part of the morning spoke of the housing situation in their own boroughs as well as an overview of the national picture. They all spoke of a need to make serious financial reforms.

Austin Mitchell MP reported that a major council house building and renovation programme will meet the urgent need of the 1.8 million households on council waiting lists. He stated that £2,000 grants to first time buyers and notional 10% shares for tenants will drive up house prices and encourage yet more borrowing by those least able to afford it. In his view the Governments latest Reform proposals to allow councils to keep more of tenants’ rents are welcome but do not go far enough. ‘The government has been willing to write off all the debt for homes in stock transfers. It is unjust that they are refusing to do the same for council tenants.’

Frank Dobson MP spoke of the ‘rent robbery’ whereby for decades the government had been taking rent monies and not giving enough money for the upkeep of council homes. Ministers claim much of this money is used to pay for ‘historic debt’. A large amount of the debt is actually new debt finance for the ALMOs. Despite its claims the government put no new money into ALMOs; rather council tenants collectively pay from their rents. He spoke of the fact that bad housing affects lives, as in health and education.

Other speakers included Pete Challis, National Housing Officer for UNISON who spoke of the Tories who have said they will give money for housing but who will take from other services such as refuse and homecare in order to pay for it. Simon Hughes MP mentioned the Labour Manifesto that wanted councils to be able to borrow at a lower rate of interest and promised a mass new build programme with apprenticeships. Insulation would be offered for homes and local authorities would be able to use section 606 money to build housing or renovate estates. Jack Dromey, Deputy General Secretary UNITE,  Linda McNeil, Leeds Tenants Federation, Paul O’Brien, APSE Scottish Tenants Organisation, Cllr Deborah Edwards, exec member for Housing, Reading City Council and the Chair – Eileen Short of DCH all contributed.

The second part of the morning was taken up with a workshop concentrating on Finance Reforms – are they good for tenants?

Councillor Catherine Smart, exec member housing, Cambridge City Council, gave her views as a member of the Lib Dems. She spoke of the stupidity of rents being set only two weeks before tenants are informed and how this does not allow for any planning.

Councillor Phil Waker, exec member housing for Barking and Dagenham Council, explained how it was impossible to get money to pull down old buildings and in his borough they had 5 regeneration estates that needed to be knocked down. He also spoke of the large amount of residents in private rented accommodation, paying high rents that are being paid for by Housing Benefit. If there were more council properties available this money would be saved. In his area the BNP are using housing as a means to attract members by saying that immigrants are taking all the council housing.

Steve Partridge, Chartered Institute of Housing then gave a detailed explanation of the expected Reform. Six local councils piloted the scheme in 2006 -08. A project team was set up from a range of services and organisations. There had been three work streams – Financial detail, Technicalities, and Capacity and Awareness building. The last group will be holding workshops for tenants later in the Spring. Consultation will continue over the election period and a response will be given at the end of June/July.

Requests for willingness to work with the scheme will go out in April 2011.

The proposal is to dismantle 30yrs worth of future HRA subsidy in one go and share it out nationally to 172 local authorities. Rents will be retained locally as will Right to Buy receipts. The system of council grants on offer is not enough money for repairs and decent homes’ works. The new system will allow more transparency on what is paying for what.

Recommendations for the future included

• Ring fencing the national Housing Revenue Account and ensuring that all council tenants’ rents are spent on their homes.
• Raise allowances for management, maintenance and major repairs. To be set at a level determined by independent research.
• Ensure that any formula for allowances is based on a 30 year settlement for long term stability.
• Ring fence all right to buy receipts to be used to improve existing and new build council housing.
• Write off or take direct responsibility form the cost of historic debt and remove this element from the housing subsidy system.
• The government must fulfil its promise to provide capital grants to meet the backlog of work for both Decent Homes and other elements.
• Local ring fencing, enforce a set of accounting rules to ensure that the costs of all shared services are correctly apportioned between the Housing Revenue Account and the general fund.
• Provide a public sector safety net as part of any self financing agreement.
• Enable a massive programme of new build council building
• Moratorium on stock transfer and other privatisation of council housing assets and land until Review outcome and implications are fully implemented.
• Protect secure, affordable and democratically accountable council housing – no undermining, means testing or time limiting secure tenancies
• Improve the guidance on stock transfer ballots to ensure a fair and balanced debate.

Anne Denison. UNISON Convenor for Barnet Homes.

Pensioner Betty Martin, the Co chair of the UK Pensioners Strategy Committee is determined to join the demonstration on Monday 22nd March to save the UK’s Resident Sheltered Housing Wardens.  The demonstration starts at 12.00pm in Parliament Square and continues at 1.00pm outside Tory Headquarters, 30 Milbank where a letter will be handed in for the attention of David Cameron.  The message is (Are you going to change the law to protect Resident Sheltered Housing Wardens?  We need to know now, so we can advise the five hundred thousand tenants of sheltered housing and their supporters who to vote for.) 

After the demonstration a delegation of sheltered housing tenants will hand in similar letters at the Liberal Democrat Headquarters for Nick Clegg, and 10 Downing for the Prime Minister.

For more click here

A big thank you for all of you who took part and for setting a challenging action plan for the branch to complete in the next 12 months.

To view the action plan click here

Dexter Whitfield Director for the European Services Strategic Unit has produced a report on managment buy outs, mutuals and socail enterprises as possible service delivery options for public services.

To view report click here

To view our flyer explaining click here

I was re-reading the Transact Report again……and noticed the following comments on school catering…….which said “most local authorities do not provide an in-house school catering service”

Now as someone who has always asked questions…..I really need to see some evidence for statements like this. In July 2009 the Trade Unions submitted a report to Future Shape Cabinet Committee with a number of questions in particular about the Transact Group. 

I have to say trying to find out what the group was actually doing and who was doing the doing has felt like being in a Dan Brown novel!

However, 11 months after asking for the Transact report it finally appeared in my in box…….I took a deep breath and opened the report……..had I finally got my hands on the Future Shape Da Vinci Code?……would  I finally understand the mysteries of easyCouncil? ….would I hear a choir of angels singing in my ear…………?

No….this is what I saw?

Does this report, justify the local press story or this interview with Vanessa Feltz on BBC London earlier this week.

You tell me.

“Sack the expensive consultants, listen to your workforce, and we can work together to defend and improve public services.”

 Barnet & Lambeth UNISON Right of Reply in yesterdays Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/25/council-cooperative-privatisation-barnet-lambeth#start-of-comments

Hundreds of reports here and here and here on the failure of the private sector along with £££££Millions of public money wasted on consultants.

When are we going to listen to staff, often referred to as ‘our biggest resource’

or perhaps we should ask the ‘Doctor’?

 

Breifing No. 1 click here

Breifing No. 2 click here

 

Thursday 18^th February 2010

“EasyCouncil or John Lewis – Are You Being Served?”

You report that our employers, Tory Barnet Council and Labour Lambeth are to be rival flagships in a battle between “EasyCouncil” and the “John Lewis local authority” (The future for local authorities: is it John Lewis or easyCouncil?” 18 February).

Setting aside the spin-doctors’ soundbites, Tony Travers describes this in your pages as “an ideological war fought by proxy” – will local government jobs and services be the “collateral damage” in this ideological war?

UNISON has made clear our reservations about the Tory “EasyCouncil” model – the judgment of the court, which you report, that Barnet could not lawfully remove sheltered housing wardens reinforces our concern that the Council is rushing to give up its responsibilities to the vulnerable.

Robert Booth is also right to report that behind the “EasyCouncil” gloss much of what is being proposed in Barnet is simply “old fashioned privatisation” – and as you have also recently reported, the Audit Commission has cast doubt on whether local authorities really manage to get value for money from the outsourcing that is now endemic across the public sector (Boom times for outsourcing firms as public sector cuts bite, 17 February).

If “EasyCouncil” seems to offer little to our members, the ideas behind Lambeth’s co-operative “John Lewis” model might have more to offer the workforce and local people if it became a means to unlock the enthusiasm and imagination of the multi-skilled multi-talented local government workforce – and engage with the local community about what they want from public services.

However, alarm bells ring for trade unionists when Council Leader Steve Reed, advocates, as you report “handing over some of the council’s more simple tasks to the voters to sort out for themselves.” There is a danger that this could lead to the same attempts to offload responsibility which we see in Barnet.

Similarly, the suggestion that local primary schools should become mutually owned organisations echoes the experimentation with forms of ownership which has fragmented public service provision and is one of the most poisonous elements of New Labour’s legacy.

You report correctly that Lambeth already has more tenant-run estates than any other borough – but do not mention the problems which have led to the closure and enforced merger of some tenant managed organisations in the borough.

You report further that Greenwich Leisure Ltd, which runs Lambeth’s leisure management contract is “employee-owned” – but not that it is currently making redundancies affecting many of its workers in the borough.

Mutualism and cooperation are, of course, a strong part of the history and ethos of the trade unions – but so is a strong commitment to the public provision of public services.

You report Tessa Jowell stating that “the mutual movement is one that will be grassroots-led, not Whitehall-imposed” – in that case we expect options to improve public services within the public sector to be given full and fair consideration.

We want to encourage our members – in Barnet as much as in Lambeth – to engage with plans to improve public service provision. But we will also be prepared to resist cutbacks in, or privatisation of, essential services.

Our message to Council Leaders – Tory or Labour – is clear. Sack the expensive consultants and listen to your workforce and we can work together to defend and improve public services.

John Burgess, Branch Secretary, Barnet UNISON

Jon Rogers and Nick Venedi, Branch Secretaries, Lambeth UNISON