DCH has produced an
'Interim Response'
to the government's
Housing Green Paper
(see DCH Press Archive for range of reports).
Austin Mitchell MP argues
"At last a government that says it is committed to building new first class council housing...
But the language and formulas are deliberately ambiguous. It's not clear how many new council homes will be built, how much pressure will be put on councils to enter into public/private partnerships producing more expensive and less secure homes rather than building new council homes themselves...
"A Labour government cannot leave council tenants who have rejected privatisation without improvements", as Labour's conference last year acknowledged...
"Though change is in the air, what we want is real substance. That has to include a clear timescale for implementation and an immediate moratorium on bullying and bamboozling tenants and councillors into privatisation: transfers, PFI schemes, ALMOs, demolition and disposal of valuable council land and property has to stop."
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What we need you to do to help win the 'Fourth Option'...
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Get tenants, trade union organisations as well as your council to endorse DCH's
five demands
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Organise a Hands Up for 'Fourth Option' photo opportunity for the press with tenants, trade unionists, MPs & councillors.
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Circulate this 'Interim Response' and formally write to the Minister saying you support the main points and five demands
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Publicise the campaign's e-petition on the Downing Street website and ask your MPs to sign EDM 136 Funding Decent Council Housing.
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Get local Constituency Labour Parties to submit our
Contemporary Motion
to Labour Party Conference in September to keep up the pressure.
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As Jack Dromey said at the DCH conference on July 12 "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 seem geared to steer local authorities into gifting/selling council land to public/private partnerships
and it is unclear what the ratio of new council homes to private homes will be, whether they will be 'secure' tenancies charging lower council rents and if they will be directly managed by the elected council that can be held to account.
DCH will take the opportunity to enter into discussions with government and others. We'll press the case for the
five demands
agreed at our conference to enable councils to improve all existing, build new and maintain all homes as first
class council housing in years to come with a clear timetable for changes and a moratorium on further privatisation so that tenants can consider all
the options.
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Download
DCH conference report
DCH conference policy statement
New model motion
latest DCH newspaper
new posters
'Fourth Option' 2006 Labour Conference
composite motion.
Around 200 authorities would directly benefit from 'Fourth Option' changes to revenue and capital funding including those retaining their homes, those with ALMOs and those where tenants have rejected privatisation or not yet voted. And all authorities across England, Scotland and Wales would gain from the opportunity to build new council housing.
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Help step up the pressure to bring this campaign to a successful conclusion:
- Pass this model motion Word .doc or
pdf in your organisation
- Help campaign against any stock transfer, PFI or ALMO proposals in your area
- Order and distribute campaign material in your organisation and area (new DCH newspaper and
'Case for Council Housing in 21st Century Britain' pamphlet)
- Sign the e-petition and encourage others to sign too
- Ask your MP to sign EDM 136 Funding Decent Council Housing and join the Council Housing group of MPs at Parliament
- Distribute campaign material at tenants and union conferences and other events (email to get material posted to you)
- Organise a 'Hands up for the fourth option' event in your area and contact the press (Order 'hands' £10 for 50 inc p&p)
- Affiliate & donate to DCH
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Further information from www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk
To stop getting DCH email newsletters reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in subject.
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