By Richard Johnstone | 2 January 2014
Local government secretary Eric Pickles has published guidance calling on town halls to prioritise the allocation of council houses to local people.
Publishing the new statutory guidance on December 31 – the day before European freedom of movement restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers were lifted – Pickles said those with ‘a long-standing connection’ to areas should get priority for homes. This should be based on whether they have lived in the area for two years, or have relatives or a job nearby.
Pickles said the move would ‘restore fairness’ to the allocation of social housing. He highlighted that 1 in 6 of all social housing tenants in London are now foreigners, and across England, 10% of new tenants are foreign nationals.
‘For years hard-working families have watched helplessly as local council homes go to people without jobs or any connection to the local area,’ he added.
‘We’re calling time on this blatant unfairness. That’s why we’ve published guidance that will ensure local people and members of the armed forces are made the top priority for council homes in their community.
‘It’s part of a package of reforms to tackle unsustainable immigration, which will also ensure councils are completely transparent about who they have given social homes to, so those people who make a valuable contribution to their community can be confident they are not losing out.’
