Give us the tools, Gordon

In the wake of the prime minister’s welcome announcement of an increase in housebuilding targets, the question we in local government now want to see answered is, are we going to be equipped to make those numbers a reality?

The government has been clear that local authorities are to be placemakers and to act as strategic housing authorities. That now needs to be injected with real meaning. The reality is that over a long period local authorities have been significantly disenfranchised in driving housing supply. With the abolition of Local Authority Social Housing Grant some years ago there is no direct access to financial resources outside councils’ own receipts and borrowing. The local authority has no direct control over who receives public money to build affordable housing in their borough. This is determined by the Housing Corporation.

My own authority, Croydon, wants to build council homes. Indeed, this year we do have a modest direct building programme. But when you look at the asset strength in our social housing stock, worth around £800m, the potential to do a lot more is self-evident. By 2010 the decent homes target will be met. The good news is that our residents will have warm, safe and more attractive homes. However, we could also put those assets to greater use.

Some will say, transfer your stock to a housing association and let the private sector realise your assets. But that is not what our tenants want. We are a good landlord and our tenants think we do a pretty good job. So instead we want to keep our stock and build. By retaining the freehold interest in our assets, we preserve them so that they can be recycled for generations to come.

We want to be a true part of a mixed economy of providers, playing on a level playing field

Clearly, councils should not be the only ones to build new social housing. But we do want to be a true part of a mixed economy of providers, playing on a level playing field. We would also like to see a rebalancing between national and local decision-making on new housing supply. Communities England will have a budget of some £4bn a year, much of which will be spent on that new supply. Who should determine where that money goes in terms of reflecting local priorities? A community-led approach would suggest that most of that money should be spent in accordance with local community strategies and significant amounts should be channelled directly through local area agreements.

And if local authorities are to be true place shapers, then we need the ability to marshal the right infrastructure to support the housing. One obvious reason for taking these steps is that it will more fully enfranchise local politicians in terms of their housing responsibilities. This will help to ensure that housing supply is at the top of the agenda of the local strategic partnerships which is likely to lead to a more innovative approach to the use of local land assets and the exercise of planning powers.

We must be able to use all the tools and assets at our disposal to help address housing need and to give a genuine strategic lead to all our partners. If that is what the housing green paper enables us to achieve, it will be a big step forward.