Government plans to increase the number of affordable homes and allow councils to keep all the receipts from rent collections and right to buy proceeds have been welcomed by London Councils.
The organisation, which represents the capital’s local authorities, has called on Ministers to work with boroughs to ensure Londoners receive the full benefit from the plans.
Yesterday Prime Minister Gordon Brown set out plans to invest £1.5 billion into building 20,000 new affordable homes across the country.
Councillor Steve Reed, who speaks for London Councils on housing matters, said the announcements “represent a huge shift in government thinking. It also shows they have heeded our calls for the boroughs to have greater freedom to use all the money they raise locally for the benefit of their residents.”
Reed said the extra money would be “a welcome boost to London, where homelessness and overcrowding is an issue and people have difficulty renting and very often can’t afford to buy their own home.”
