September has been a very busy month in terms of Government spending announcements. The Housing Secretary has revealed a £12.2 billion investment into affordable housing, and a £90 million cash injection to help combat homelessness.
Historic high streets are also set to receive a £95 million rejuvenation payment. The eviction ban has been changed yet again, and changes to the IR35 have been actioned and a date set for their start. Liverpool Council have announced a new multi-billion-pound development project, and the NHS has received a £28 million boost to help recruit new nurses. You can read the details of all of these below.
£12.2 Billion Pledged for Affordable Housing
The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has launched a £12.2 billion investment into affordable housing. This is designed to help first-time buyers get a foot on the property ladder. The vast majority of this sum is made up of the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme which will run from 2021 until 2026 and will provide up to 180,00 homes across the whole country. He announced that £7.5 billion of the total spend is to be delivered outside of London by Homes England, with the Greater London Authority offering £4 billion. The homes which are not sold will be made available for discounted rent, and 10% will be supported housing.
A new model for Shared Ownership has also been announced, which is also designed to help people get a foot on the property ladder. Under the new model, buyers can purchase just 10% of a property, will allow people to buy additional shares in their homes in 1% installments with reduced fees, and a new 10-year period for new shared owners in which the landlord has to cover the cost of any repairs and maintenance.
More information can be found here.
Jenrick Announces £90 Million Pound Plan to Tackle Rough Sleeping
The Government has announced that they are to distribute £90 million pounds to local authorities to temporarily house vulnerable people. This money will be spent helping people into the private rental sector, providing supported housing, and assessing wider support. This is designed to stop a surge of homelessness following coronavirus. The Government have also announced an additional £13.5 million-pound fund for “new or emerging challenges”.
More information can be found here.
Eviction Ban Dates Confirmed
Christopher Pincher, the Minister of State for Housing has confirmed dates for a “Christmas Truce” on evictions of renters affected by coronavirus. He has said that bailiffs across England and Wales should not enforce possession orders between December 11th and January 11th.
Renters who have been served a Section 21 notice, which starts the process of eviction, between August 21st – 29th are not entitled to the six-month notice period which came into effect on a later date. From August 29th landlords are only required to give four weeks’ notice to tenants who have not paid rent for more than six months. Exceptions to the six-month notice period will also be made for those who are partaking in anti-social behaviour.
More information can be found here.
Liverpool Council Launches Multi-Billion Pound Project
Liverpool Council has announced that it is budgeting a multi-billion pound, “heritage-led” development in the cities docklands, in order to continue its fight to retain its highly sought-after UNESCO “World Heritage Status”. This has been in jeopardy since 2013 since UNESCO raised concerns about the large Liverpool Waters development scheme led by Peel L&P.
UNESCO has told Liverpool that this year is its last change to preserve its status; this new development aims to convince the body that it can respect its famous heritage whilst regenerating the city.
You can find more information here.
£95 Million Pound Plan to Revive High-Street
The Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced that 69 high streets across the UK will receive a total of £95 million pounds to transform disused historic buildings into shops, houses, and community centres. This is also designed to help traditional businesses compete with online outlets, which has resulted in many shop closures across the UK.
The funding will also be used for essential repair works in historic buildings, restoring shop fronts and facades, stimulating local commerce, and helping address the UK-wide skills shortage of heritage professionals in fields such as stonemasonry and conservation.
London and the South East is set to receive £14.3 million, the South West £13.7 million, East of England £7 million, the Midlands £21.1 million, the North East and Yorkshire £17.2, and the North West £18.7 million.
The highstreets designated for this funding can be found here.
HMRC Encouraging Businesses to Prepare for IR35 Changes
HMRC’s customer education and support programme is being launched as a series of webinars from 13th of October. The OR35 rules require that employment taxes should be paid by people who provide services to a business through an intermediary, usually a personal service company (PSC). AS the rules stand currently, if the private business sector engages a contractor through a PSC, the PSC will decide whether IR35 applies. These new rules are set to take effect from the 6thof April.
More information can be found here.
TFL to Take Over Crossrail
The Crossrail’s board has been dissolved after a final meeting with TFL set to take over direct control of the project by the end of September. Problems with the delivery of Crossrail had started to emerge in 2015, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan insisting that the new Crossrail leadership be “fully open and transparent”. The estimated completion date of the project is 2022, and will run from London to Reading and Heathrow in the west, through to Shenfield and Abbey wood in the east.
More information can be found here.
Nursing Recruitment Given £28 Million Pound Boost
England’s Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May has written to nurse leaders to set out support designed to accelerate recruitment. This is a £28 million fund which will support international nurses and midwives who are currently waiting to join the NHS.
Regional teams have received a £1.7 million fund in order to recruit health care support workers in NHS organisations with the highest number of vacancies. Ruth said: “This has been the most challenging year in NHS history and nurses and midwives have stepped up in ways never seen before. Their efforts throughout this global pandemic have inspired a whole new generation of people to take up a career in the NHS.”
More information can be found here.