Policy and Political Report

 

24-31 May 2011
Parliamentary question on affordable housing and the New Home Bonus
Responding to a parliamentary question from Conservative MP Damian Hinds on the New Home Bonus, Housing Minister Grant Shapps confirmed that the New Homes Bonus“is based on the council tax from the net increase in effective housing stock with a further enhancement of £350 for affordable homes and will be paid for the following six years”.
HMRC statistics on property transactions
HM Revenue and Customs has released statistics on revenue-based taxes and benefits on property transactions.  The statistics give estimates of the number and aggregate value of property transactions in England and Wales, Scotland and the United Kingdom, for 2007 to 2009, broken down by various items.
Parliamentary question on energy in new homes
Communities Minister Andrew Stunell has said that areas being explored for energy efficiency improvements include“improving guidance and dissemination to raise awareness and understanding of the requirements and how to achieve them, and improvements to the building control system to facilitate compliance, such as enabling wider use of competent person schemes”.
Stunell also said that the Government was working to ensure good take-up of the Green Deal scheme, including “improved rights for private tenants to benefit from energy efficiency measures; exploring proposals for using building regulations to promote the retrofitting of buildings when undertaking other major works; and working with social landlords to encourage large-scale projects to retrofit homes with energy efficiency and micro-generation technologies”.
National Audit Office Report on the Government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme
The NAO has published a report into the Government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme, highlighting that despite aiming to help 6000 households, it provided assistance to just 2600.  Furthermore the Scheme ran over budget by some £35million.
Shelter poll suggests first time buyers support responsible lending
A YouGov poll for Shelter has revealed that despite difficulties getting onto the property ladder, 75% of first time buyers believe that banks must lend responsibly.  The poll also shows that 53 per cent of first time buyers agree the high cost of homes, not the availability of credit (41 per cent), is the biggest barrier to them getting on the ladder.
In response, the Council of Mortgage Lenders issued a press release stating that the CML “expresses surprise that Shelter seems unaware that mortgage lenders do, in fact, support reform”.
Progress update on the Penfold Review
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published a “progress update” on the Penfold Review.  The update sets out the progress made since November 2010, when the Government responded to the review.  Steps include:

• Expanding the simplified approach to the environmental permitting system, allowing developers to apply for one consent rather than several
   
• Creating a lighter touch application process for low-impact environmental consents
   
• Setting out service standards for the major consenting bodies to improve the ease of applying for consents, such as named points of contact, clearer guidance on whether consents are needed and encouraging early discussion to smooth an application process
   
• Consulting on a code to increase transparency of the decision making process in Local Authorities
   
• Creating a protocol to guide working between the Environment Agency, Local Authorities and developers to cut out duplication and confusion

BBA Figures – Mortgage Lending
The BBA has released figures on mortgage lending in April, which show that annual growth of the banks’ net mortgage lending was 2.2% in April – “substantially ahead” of the 0.7% for the mortgage market in March, according to the BBA.
In response to the BBA figures, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors stated that although they agree with the BBA that lack of demand for mortgages was a factor, “the cost and availability of finance for first time buyers remains the bigger problem”.
Nationwide House Price Index update
Nationwide has published its monthly house price index for May, suggesting a 0.3% increase in house prices