Agenda item

Housing

It was moved by Councillor Paul Wood, seconded by Councillor Karen McGowan, that this Council:-

(a)       believes the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill will lead to a reduction in the number of homes available at genuinely affordable rents at a time when Sheffield needs more;

(b)       deplores the decisions of the current Government and the previous Coalition Government to cut grant funding for new social housing;

(c)        opposes:-

(i)         the Government’s decision to allow private consultants to process and potentially determine planning applications, and believes locally elected representatives are the most suitable people to deal with this; and

(ii)        the watering down of Section 106 and the broadening of the definition of ‘affordable homes’ to include Starter Homes, and is concerned that these changes are likely to produce fewer new homes at genuinely affordable rents in Sheffield;

(d)       believes:-

(i)         children of tenants have rights and that the ending of home security for people upon the death of a parent is both ethically and morally unfair;

(ii)        limiting councils to giving tenancies of between 2 and 5 years maximum is unfair on tenants and detrimental to developing strong, safe and cohesive communities and a stable schooling environment for young people;

(iii)       believes the Right to Buy discounts for housing association tenants funded by the sale of high-value council housing is effectively a levy on the Housing Revenue Account and is detrimental to the housing needs of the City; and

(iv)       a couple earning £15,000 each should not be the target of re-assessment for higher market rents; and

(e)       welcomes:-

(i)         the current Administration’s commitment to increase Sheffield’s council housing stock by 1,000 units; and

(ii)        the news that more than 100 new homes are to be built in the Manor area on brownfield land owned by Sheffield City Council and that more than 150 jobs will be created during construction.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Steve Ayris, seconded by Councillor Penny Baker, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:

1.         the deletion of the words “and the previous Coalition Government” from paragraph (b); and

2.         the addition at the end of paragraph (e)(ii) of the words “thanks to the establishment of the Sheffield Housing Company by the previous Administration”.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

It was then moved by Councillor Aodan Marken, seconded by Councillor Robert Murphy, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:

1.         the addition of a new paragraph (d)(v) as follows:-

(v)       that introducing a 1% enforced reduction to social housing rent this year will serve to reduce the Government’s benefits bill at the cost of money for new housing stock and repairs, and believes that this is fuelled by an ideological commitment to austerity that means the poorest continue to suffer for the benefit of the wealthiest;

2.         the addition at the end of paragraph (e)(i) of the words “notes that this will still be a net loss of stock since 2010/11”.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

Following a Right of Reply by Councillor Paul Wood, the original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-