Boris Watch

Jim, in the comments, directs us towards more enthusiastic speculation from Simon Milton. Boris’s senior planning adviser seems keen to scrap council housing for the homeless in favour of tenancy in privately rented homes.

‘When somebody is accepted as homeless we would all agree that they should have a decent roof over their heads,’ he said. ‘But could councils arrange a secure long-term tenancy in the private sector? Let’s move away from an assumption from the focus on [housing the] vulnerable in a home for life on a social housing estate.”

It seems that the underclass are too much of a hassle on housing estates:

‘This would allow councils to keep homes aside for people to make them the kind of mixed communities they should be,’ he added. ‘There are estates that are no-go areas for police and other authorities. We need to rebalance those places and restore a sense of community.’

Simon Milton was, readers may know, a member of Shirley Porter’s Conservative council as she was clearing deprived citizens from social housing as part of the ‘Homes for Votes’ policy. His latest comments, then, are surprisingly reckless, and especially as we are told that he “will not be bound by the Greater London Assembly code of ethics”.

Elsewhere, he spoke of the need for a shifting of power onto local authorities:

‘The government seems to be still clinging onto the old controlling approach,’ he said. ‘There is a need to shift the balance of control over housing to local authorities. Councils, in my opinion, best understand local housing needs and councils are the only ones who can bring the right people to the table.’

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