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1.67 million on council waiting lists, tenants rejecting privatisation, 'affordable' housing unaffordable, home owners face negative equity...
The 'Fourth Option' - Investment to improve existing and build new first class council homes - makes more sense than ever!
Hands up for council housing
Hands up for council housing Organise local protests to demand government modernise all existing council housing, start building new first class council homes as an alternative to the private market and commit to making council housing sustainble by stopping the robbery!
Invite tenants groups, trade unionists, sympathetic councillors and people on the housing waiting list. Contact DCH for material and 'Fourth Option' hands.
Ask Labour Party members and affiliated unions to submit DCH's amendments to their 'Partnership in Power' policy consultation.

200 attend inquiry at Parliament to back amendments
Lobbying MPs on January 22 at Parliament (photo: Andrew Wiard www.reportphotos.co.uk Tenants, trade unionists, councillors and council officers came to Parliament on January 22. More than 20 delegations gave oral evidence. DCH new newspaper The well attended event was organised by the House of Commons Council Housing group to gather evidence to support amendments to the Housing and Regeneration Bill (see right).
Oral and written evidence has reinforced the case for enabling councils to improve their existing homes and estates, start a new council house building programme and ensure that all homes are maintained as first class council housing in years to come.

Talks - but no concrete progress
'Fourth Option': 5 clear demand On Jan 16 Austin Mitchell and Alan Walter met Iain Wright, the junior Housing Minister overseeing the Bill. Discussions covered the campaign's main concerns.
MPs Austin Mitchell, Brian Iddon, Paul Holmes and David Howarth with Alan Walter and Eileen Short from DCH previously met Housing Minister Yvette Cooper (Oct 18) and discussed the Housing Green Paper, building new council homes, meeting Decent Homes and the government's response to Hills and Cave.

'Fourth Option' back again at Labour's conference
Labour Conference 2007 debates 'Fourth Option' for fourth year (photo: © Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk) 17 Constituency Parties submitted motions supporting the 'Fourth Option' that finally got onto the agenda.
Council housing dominated the housing debate forcing movement in the right direction from Housing Minister Yvette Cooper - but not yet nearly enough (DCH responds to Labour's housing debate). Three consecutive conferences have backed the 'Fourth Option' demands. There's plenty of 'warm words' but we're still waiting for specific commitments. As Austin Mitchell MP put it "We haven't fought this long and hard and come this far to be fobbed off now." Read more>>

TUC gives unanimous support for 'Fourth Option'
TUC 2007 - delegates back 'Fourth Option' (photo: Simon Clark eyebox.net) TUC delegates unanimously backed the 'Fourth Option' in a high profile debate on the first morning. Britain's two biggest unions (UNITE and UNISON) both submitted motions moved by their respective general secretaries.
UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis argued "What is so wrong with councils renewing their housing stock... respecting tenants' choice?" and said earlier "Investment to improve existing council housing and estates and to start building new first class council housing, the clarion call of the "Fourth option" backed by Labour conference but still unimplemented, is now mission critical."
UNITE's Derek Simpson told Congress "The housing crisis is a problem of affordability and supply. Unless we solve that problem it will be a major downer for the labour movement...I'm pleased that council housing is back as a term in the vocabulary of Labour - it hasn't been for too long. That is down to your efforts."

DCH responds to Housing Green Paper
DCH Interim Response to Green Paper 2007 DCH has produced an 'Interim Response' and additional response on Local Housing Companies (15 Oct) to the government's Housing Green Paper welcoming this opportunity to press the case for council housing (see covering letter, Compass article and Press Archive).
Get your organisation to formally respond to the DCLG consultation endorsing DCH's five demands.
As Jack Dromey said at the DCH conference "the devil will be in the detail". The Green Paper directly addresses the key changes to housing finance we've all been demanding. But the solutions steer local authorities into gifting/selling council land to public/private partnerships. The ratio of new council homes to private homes is unclear and whether they will be 'secure' tenancies charging lower council rents and directly managed by an accountable elected council.

National Conference united and determined
Austin Mitchell MP opening the DCH Conference July 12 2007 at TUC, London (photo: © Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk More than 200 tenants, trade unionists, councillors, MPs, housing professionals and academics took part in the DCH National Conference at the TUC in central London on July 12 (on-line report or print document).
The agenda combined leading national speakers with discussions around a policy statement and workshop papers. The event sparked debates on BBC TV interview, local radio, press articles and Guardian letter providing a high profile for the campaign's five demands.

'Fourth Option' prominent at union conferences
Delegates supporting Fourth Option at UNISON conference (photo Marcus Rose, Insight Visual) Gordon Brown told the UNITE (Amicus) conference "I cannot promise to implement the fourth option on council housing today [a demand from the Defend Council Housing group for the last six years] but what I will tell you is that councils will be allowed to build homes again." (Guardian Unlimited, 18 June) "Mr Brown has an 'open mind' about the fourth option for council housing, as an alternative to transfer, arm's-length management and the private finance initiative, his spokesperson said this week."
Gordon Brown also told the GMB conference 'we will give help to councils by new means through which they can build houses as well'. And all six Labour Party Deputy Leadership candidates supported the 'Fourth Option' to enable councils to improve homes direct as an alternative to transfer, PFI and ALMOs (Give ’em the homes millions, says Brown’s deputy (whoever that turns out to be).
Speaking at a DCH fringe meeting Nick Brown MP, a close ally of the next Prime Minister, told delegates 'Defend Council Housing has been one of the most persistent and courageous Labour movement campaigns that are currently underway and I think their time has come.'

Tenants tell councillors 'Stand Up For Council Housing'
Camden tenants reps voted overwhelmingly against the council's latest proposals for partial transfers, demolition and sale of homes and land. A packed meeting demanded that the council actively campaign by sponsoring a London wide conference to lobby for the 'Fourth Option' and a cross party delegation with tenants reps to meet Ministers.

John Hills reports on 'Role of Social Housing'
New DCH pamphlet 'Dear Gordon, Invest in decent, affordable, secure and accountable council housing' Hills launched his Ends & Means report with Ruth Kelly at the LSE on Feb 20. Hills said people would be disappointed if they expected him to attack a secure tenancy (although the report is more ambiguous). He applauded the role of public housing in providing decent, affordable and secure housing in the past and recognised the need for the future. He diplomatically said it wasn't up to him to decide on 'first, second, third or fourth options'.
Ruth Kelly seized the opportunity to raise scrapping council secure life-long tenancies, introducing means testing and bulldozing council blocks to build private housing to create more mixed communities.
These proposals have met with outrage - read more >>

Privatisation hits the buffers
123 councils have already decided to keep their homes (Oct 2006). Make sure there's an effective campaign in all 55 areas due to ballot on stock transfer and those planning ALMOs. Bring together tenants, trade unions, councillors and MPs and contact DCH for help producing material to get the arguments out on local estates (also stock options survey).
The big votes by tenants in many authorities shows the strong support for council housing. Tenants want improvements but we aren't prepared to trade secure tenancies and lower rents for new kitchens and bathrooms. Nor do we want to take the risk of two-stage privatisation by ALMO.
Join tenants in Waveney, Cannock Chase, Selby, Mid Devon, Sedgefield, Ellesmere Port & Neston, Kingston, Wrexham, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Dudley, Camden, Southwark and elsewhere who have voted NO to privatisation!
Let us know what's happening in your area.

1300+ attend rally at Parliament and lobby MPs
Tenants, trade unionists and councillors came to London to support the campaign in Feb 2006 More than 1300 tenants, trade unionists and councillors, from over 90 areas across the UK, took part in the Lobby of Parliament and rally on Feb 8 (web report and bulletin).
Delegations heard from 32 speakers, exchanged experience and lobbied their MPs.
Councils can no longer tell tenants that government policy is set in stone.

Updated since your last visit 15 May 14:27
Press Archive articles/reports

New pamphlet punches arguments
'Dear Gordon 2', the new DCH pamphlet, argues Gordon Brown can't keep his promise of 3 million new homes unless he drops the dogma and invests in council housing. The private sector is in crisis and the Local Government Association predicts council housing waiting lists will rise to 2 million households (5 million people) by 2010.
The pamphlet updates the first 'Dear Gordon' open letter published last year and reminds the Prime Minister that tenants, trade unions, councillors and MPs - plus three consecutive Labour Party conferences - demand the 'Fourth Option' of direct investment in council housing. The pamphlet also includes suggested amendments to the Labour Party draft policy document and urges Labour Party members and affiliated unions to submit them.

"Brown suffers big backbench revolt over council house repairs"
MPs briefing on amendments to Housing Bill (The Guardian, 1st April 2008) 'Gordon Brown suffered one of the biggest backbench revolts since becoming prime minister last night as 28 Labour rebels backed an amendment to a housing bill calling for more resources for council house building and repair...'.
Read the transcript of the debate in Parliament; see how MPs voted on amendments NC1 (fair and balanced ballots) and NC8 (HRA funding). See Third Reading Briefing, campaign report from the Council Housing group of MPs and More >>

'Opt out' pilot identifies councils face 40% funding shortfall
A new government report looking at councils opting out of the national Housing Revenue Account (HRA) has identified that "anticipated levels of future subsidy… are not sufficient to maintain a sustainable level of housing services within the HRA subsidy system." (Self-financing of council housing services: Summary of findings of a modelling exercise, CLG, March 2008) "We are talking about the major repairs allowance across the country being 40 per cent short of what most people would estimate is a minimum investment need over 30 years" (Steve Partridge, Housing Quality Network consultant supporting the review group, Inside Housing 14 March 2008).
Read DCH Briefing on CLG report conclusions.

Flint scapegoats council tenants...
New Housing Minister Caroline Flint made her first headline proposing council tenants apply for jobs as a condition of tenancy. Part of the agenda is to stigmatise council housing so as to continue their drive to privatisation and counter growing demands for government to modernise existing estates and start building a new generation of council housing (Council tenants condemn Flint's statement).
See following articles (more in Press Archive)
Homes alone (Inside Housing)
PM gives Housing Minister Caroline Flint cold shoulder over 'boot out' jobless idea (Daily Mirror)
Avoid return to workhouse (Daily Mirror)
No 10 plays down Flint's social housing plan (Guardian)
'Work or lose home' says minister (BBC)
Labour: if you want a council house, find a job (Guardian)

Investment In Council Housing
Ask your MP to sign the current Early Day Motion 368 in Parliament? (see list of MPs signing previous EDM 136)
Email your MP and get organisations and individuals to lobby MPs.

Minister announces ‘sustainable long-term’ future for council housing
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper has announced (Dec 12) a review of the HRA subsidy system - but it won't report until spring 2009.
The commitment "to ensure that we have a sustainable, long term system for financing council housing" and "consider evidence about the need to spend on management, maintenance and repairs" is very welcome. But, if Ministers expect to be taken seriously, there has be interim measures to respect tenants' choice by providing gap funding to enable all authorities where tenants have voted for retention to improve their homes and estates and an increase in Management & Maintenance Allowances (M&M) this year which recognises actual costs and at least matches the increase in tenants rents.

A clear manifesto commitment
Labour's election manifesto (May 2005) made a clear pledge - let's make sure they keep it:
"By 2010 we will ensure that all social tenants benefit from a decent, warm home with modern facilities."
The pledge is simple. It doesn't say that the commitment is dependent on tenants voting a certain way. Reject stock transfer, PFI or ALMOs and join the campaign for the 'fourth option'. Get tenants, councillors, unions and MPs in your area to demand direct invstment in council housing with no strings attached Labour manifesto (page 80). Download DCH poster

Government losing more ballots
Mid Devon tenants won No Vote in Feb 2006 Oswestry tenants Voted No in November along with two estates in Lambeth. Tamworth rejected privatisation in July. Swansea vote nearly 3:1 NO (Mar 21) and Brighton tenants vote 77% No (Feb 21) (see all NO Votes).
Make sure there's an effective campaign in all 55 areas due to ballot on stock transfer and those planning ALMO (DCLG list). Bring together tenants, trade unions, councillors and MPs and contact DCH for help producing material to get the arguments out on local estates.

"The Case for council housing in 21st Century Britain" pamphlet
New DCH pamphlet - The Case for council housing in 21st Century Britain DCH has produced a 98 page pamphlet bringing together 31 articles from leading tenant activists, MPs, trade unionists, councillors and academics.
Get your organisation to bulk order (@£2.50 each) printed copies to distribute to tenants reps, councillors and trade unionists in your area.
Download Acrobat file or Word file

Newspapers for Wales and Scotland Scottish DCH Newspaper August 2006
Wales DCH Newspaper August 2006 DCH has produced 100,000 copies of a Welsh newspaper sponsored by the Wales TUC, UNISON, T&G and GMB and a Scottish newspaper to support local campaigns against transfer.

Reply to Kelly's Discussion Paper
Ruth Kelly, the new Minister, made a speech (7 June) on 'Decent Homes to Sustainable Communities' and published a statement and Discussion Paper opening a three month consultation. DCH Interim Response to government discussion paper - tell them what you think!
DCH has produced an Interim Response (July 15) with an introduction by Austin Mitchell MP urging tenants, councillors and trade unionists to contribute towards a final document. Distribute to every tenant rep, councillor and union steward in your area (printed copies available). Final response now available.
Ministers recognise their policy is unsustainable. See press: Government drops council house repair deadline and Kelly ushers in new era.
New DCH pamphlet: 'ALMOs: Revert Back - Safeguarding the future of council housing' out soon DCLG also finally published the outcome of its Review of ALMOs. DCH and the European Services Strategy Unit are writing a new pamphlet ALMOs: Revert Back - safeguarding the future of council housing making the case once 'Decent Homes' improvements have been completed. Can you help?

MPs make case for 'Fourth Option'
The House of Commons Council Housing group has produced a 40 page report documenting the evidence they gathered from their inquiry into support for the 'fourth option'.
Help make sure it is widely read by tenants, councillors and trade unionists in your area.
For more information see website.
summary
full report

Affiliate & Donate
Unlike local authorities we can't dip into the Housing Revenue Account and use tenants rents to campaign. DCH relies on affiliation fees, donations and sale of publications to get the arguments across. Raise support in your tenants association, union branch, Trades Council and political party. Download details.


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