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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Assembly Government must take centre stage on housing stock transfer says AM
October 3, 2006 12:50 PM
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has called on the Labour Assembly Government to lend a hand to Councils such as Swansea who are considering asking tenants to vote to transfer their homes to a housing association.
Mr. Black was speaking in the light of criticism by leading academic Professor Kevin Morgan, that Councils and the Welsh Assembly Government are burying their head in the sand over the multi-billion pound crisis facing social housing in Wales. He believes that tenants in Wales are likely to be saddled with poor quality homes indefinitely, unless council houses are transferred into the not-for-profit voluntary sector. The cost of bringing all council homes in Wales up to the official Welsh Housing Quality Standard is estimated at £3bn to £4bn.
"There are a number of Councils such as Swansea, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Monmouth who have already gone some way down the road towards a tenants' ballot on stock transfer, simply because they do not have the money to bring houses up to standard," said Mr. Black. "In doing so they are following Assembly Government and UK Government policy. I expect other Councils to follow suit once they have evaluated the options available to them so as to meet the Welsh housing Quality Standard."
"Contrary, to the views of some opponents, there is no magical pot of gold that can be drawn on if tenants vote 'no' and Professor Morgan is absolutely right that the only alternative is that repairs and improvements will be delayed, if they get done at all. He is also right in arguing that transfer organisations, with one third of board members being tenants, can be as accountable as council landlords, if not more so."
"What is needed however, is more leadership from the Assembly Government. They cannot afford to sit on the fence and allow local Councils to make their decisions in isolation. Ministers need to get out into communities and sell their own policy. They also need to be more vocal in supporting Councils who have decided to proceed to a ballot. If they do not do this then I am worried that the whole agenda of improving social housing will drift and that tenants who will suffer poor housing conditions for some considerable time to come."
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