New boost for council housing (but not in Hull)

Hull North MP Diana Johnson today expressed concern that Hull City Council has yet again failed to apply for Government funding this time for a new council house-building programme.

The news comes as East Riding of Yorkshire Council was allocated £16,592,550 towards building 275 council homes.

£127 million of Government investment was allocated today as Labour's Housing Minister John Healey gave the green light to 47 local authorities for work to begin building over 2,000 new council homes nationally helping to create over 5,000 jobs in the construction industry.

Diana Johnson MP said: "As with Government grants for protecting homes from flooding and free swimming, Hull's Lib Dem Council is so often quick to moan about funding - but slow to apply for it.

"Hull has over 13,000 applicants on Hull council homes waiting list and, on recent figures, a total of 8,640 empty council and private sector homes. Hull has a shortage in both quality and quantity in affordable housing. It is therefore a disgrace that the Council has missed another chance to bring investment and jobs into the city for local people.

"I have urged Hull to apply by the end of October under the second round of the scheme. Successful bids will be announced in December. But even if this goes well, Hull has already missed out on investment that this city needs."

The Labour Government's national £1.5 billion Housing Pledge stands in stark contrast to the Tories' proposals for cutting spending on affordable housing - which would have seen £800 million less invested in housing in 2009, equivalent to 9,000 fewer affordable homes to rent."

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