Social Housing/ private renters/ squatters/ homeless

[Gramsci]

I donate to Centrepoint. Do they also collaborate with immigration enforcement?

I don't know from the report. Crisis and Shelter told Corporate Watch they don't.

If it had not been for Corporate Watch none of this would be in public domain.

Talking to a friend last week he said some workers in Charity sector he knows are asking questions of there management of what info they pass onto Immigration enforcement. As some workers might not know info they collect is passed on.

What I'm saying is that this is murky territory.

Might be worth you as someone who donates money to email and ask them. You are paying to keep Centre point going so should be entitled to know how your donation is being used.

 

[David Clapson]

I asked and they replied:

Thank you for getting in touch with Centrepoint to clarify our position on the important issue of immigration.

At Centrepoint we offer information and advice to young people regardless of immigration status through the Centrepoint Helpline. We know that if young people have no access to public funds then their options are significantly curtailed but would still work to explore what options there were available for them.

We would not pass on information to the Home Office or other organisations without the young person’s consent, and have not been asked to do so. The only exception would be if we were concerned about the safety of a young person. In this case we may contact social services or the police without their consent, which may ultimately lead to a Home Office referral through those agencies.

As part of exploring people’s options it may be that returning to their original country is discussed. If this is something the young person wishes to do we can help to facilitate this but would only do so in line with their wishes.

Some young people who have arrived in the UK as unaccompanied minors are referred to stay with Centrepoint by social services. We are not involved in the decisions made around their immigration status. We help them to access specialist immigration advice and advocacy when young people need it, and help them to adapt to life in the UK. Young refugees with no stable accommodation account for 13% of the young people we support, with your help.

I hope this answers your query but please let me know if you have any further questions about our approach to supporting young immigrants and refugees. Once again thank you for your support to Centrepoint’s work.

Best Regards,

Matilda Dunning

Supporter Care Advisor

So I'll continue to donate.

 

[Winot]

I asked and they replied:



So I'll continue to donate.

Good man. I'll ask the same of Shelter.

 

[oryx]

Looks like at last Labour will make a firm commitment to rent control

Somewhat predictably, first up to be interviewed on R4 after Corbyn's speech was a rep from the Residential Landlords Association, bleating about how property investment is a pension for some people.

This is cautiously very good news.

 

[CH1]

Looks like at last Labour will make a firm commitment to rent control

Somewhat predictably, first up to be interviewed on R4 after Corbyn's speech was a rep from the Residential Landlords Association, bleating about how property investment is a pension for some people.

This is cautiously very good news.

I can't see why landlords should have special consideration - after all many pensioners used to rely on income from bank/building society until the government cut interest rates to 0.25% to save the bankers and latterly because of Brexit.

 

[Gramsci]

Looks like at last Labour will make a firm commitment to rent control

Somewhat predictably, first up to be interviewed on R4 after Corbyn's speech was a rep from the Residential Landlords Association, bleating about how property investment is a pension for some people.

This is cautiously very good news.

Mark Steel on this attack on hard working Landlords by Comrade Corbyn.

Landlords are right about Corbyn's crazy proposals to control rent

It’s especially kind of them when you consider how hard a landlord has to work at owning property. They never get a moment off, and even have to carry on owning it when they’re sick – it’s just own, own, own, with barely a moment of gratitude.

People who have worked hard , bought a flat to rent and as a pension are now to be penalised by Comrade Corbyn. This is all about the politics of envy. Those who have pulled themselves up by there bootstraps, the strivers are to lose out under Corbyn. A dangerous populist moving from the centre ground.

Lack of housing is a very complicated issue. The requires a good deal of level headed discussion. Not populist measures like rent controls. We would all like to see lower rents but this won't happen by alienating those in the centre ground.

 

[alex_]

I can't see why landlords should have special consideration - after all many pensioners used to rely on income from bank/building society until the government cut interest rates to 0.25% to save the bankers and latterly because of Brexit.

The Bank of England controls interest rates, and has done independently for 20 years.

Alex

 

[CH1]

The Bank of England controls interest rates, and has done independently for 20 years.
Alex

So QE and repurchasing bonds to drive down interest rates are natural banking processes that have frequently happened over the 300+ years existence of the Bank of England (since 1694 to be precise)?

 

[CH1]

Mark Steel on this attack on hard working Landlords by Comrade Corbyn.
Landlords are right about Corbyn's crazy proposals to control rent

I like Mark Steel. I like him even more now you've posted this!

 

[Lambert Simnel]

Rent controls are bad. Just build/buy/seize enough council houses ffs.

 

[Gramsci]

Rent controls are bad. Just build/buy/seize enough council houses ffs.

Why are rent controls bad?

 

[Lambert Simnel]

Why are rent controls bad?

Looking at the previous period of rent controls in this country and the period following it, it seems they caused properties to be much more poorly maintained than they are now, as well as restricting supply.

 

[alex_]

So QE and repurchasing bonds to drive down interest rates are natural banking processes that have frequently happened over the 300+ years existence of the Bank of England (since 1694 to be precise)?

BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1997: Brown sets Bank of England free

The Bank of England and the government are not the same thing.

Also

 

[CH1]

BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1997: Brown sets Bank of England free
The Bank of England and the government are not the same thing.
Also

Also what?

Indeed the Bank of England and the government are not the same thing.

I think you should look up the goings on by Bank of England Governor Montague Norman who was in office from 1920-1944. Maybe his pecadillos were what caused Atlee to nationalise the BoE in 1946?

In any case it doesn't much matter whether the Bank of England is nationalised or not. If you accept that the government is part of the establishment and that the Governor or the Bank of England is part of the establishment.

In the case of the absurd Mark Carney - he was specifically recruited by George Osborne because he had form in producing property booms in Canada. What's not to like?

 

[Gramsci]

BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1997: Brown sets Bank of England free

The Bank of England and the government are not the same thing.

Also

I would have thought the recent crisis of capitalism would have shown you this is not really the case.

If the bank of England had really been independent then QE and bailing out the banks should not have happened.

 

[Gramsci]

Looking at the previous period of rent controls in this country and the period following it, it seems they caused properties to be much more poorly maintained than they are now, as well as restricting supply.

You are the kind of person that Mark Steel piece is showing up.

This is neo liberal right wing bollox.

 

[Gramsci]

Looking at the previous period of rent controls in this country and the period following it, it seems they caused properties to be much more poorly maintained than they are now, as well as restricting supply.

This is straight out of what the landlords lobby groups say.

Corbyn rent control plan 'an attack on landlords' | RLA Campaigns and News Centre

 

[existentialist]

Looking at the previous period of rent controls in this country and the period following it, it seems they caused properties to be much more poorly maintained than they are now, as well as restricting supply.

Of course! It all seems so simple when you put it that way...

 

[BemusedbyLife]

Rent control is just titzing about and treating the symptoms not the problem, if Labour is really interested in doing something about the housing shortage it needs to start building council homes on a massive scale (half a million minimum)
my own personal experience of landlords is that they're all twats, maybe there are some good ones but I haven't met any myself, The private rental market needs reforming because there are too many get rich quick merchants and con artists and far too few who regard it as what it should be a business like running a shop, certainly I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who view it as a kind of pension, a business has risks if you aren't prepared to take them then put your money somewhere else.
I suspect the consequences of rent control good or bad will turn out to be largely unpredictable until it is tried though.

 

[Wolveryeti]

The Bank of England controls interest rates, and has done independently for 20 years.

Alex

It is a lot less independent than most people imagine.

The 2% inflation target is set by HMT, for instance. And appointments to the board are essentially done by government:

How the Bank of England is governed | Bank of England

 

[Gramsci]

Rent control is just titzing about and treating the symptoms not the problem, if Labour is really interested in doing something about the housing shortage it needs to start building council homes on a massive scale (half a million minimum)
my own personal experience of landlords is that they're all twats, maybe there are some good ones but I haven't met any myself, The private rental market needs reforming because there are too many get rich quick merchants and con artists and far too few who regard it as what it should be a business like running a shop, certainly I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who view it as a kind of pension, a business has risks if you aren't prepared to take them then put your money somewhere else.
I suspect the consequences of rent control good or bad will turn out to be largely unpredictable until it is tried though.

Corbyn is a social democrat not a revolutionary communist. Whilst I pretty sure he would support mass Council housing in the interim rent controls are needed.

Also a program of mass Council housing isnt going to go down well with property deails developers and landlords. One of the reasons why Tories got rid of rent controls and gradually reduced Council house building is that it didn't suit capitalism.

It's also not going to make those who have a buy to let flat as a pension happy either. The assumption being that owning a flat would be gaurenteed investment with always upward growth in rent with the asset ever increasing in value. A mass building of housing by a future Labour government is liable to upset that.

Imo a lot of the opposition to rent controls is fear that ,god forbid, a future government might actually do something to lower cost of housing for many people.

The so called liberal middle class home owners with a buy to let flat ( or small portfolio of flats) as a pension miight not be so happy with that in practice.

 

[SpamMisery]

If the bank of England had really been independent then QE and bailing out the banks should not have happened.

Why's that?

 

[Gramsci]

Why's that?

The whole point of making the bank of England independent was to take it out if control of political powers. The neo liberal orthodoxy being that interference by the state in the economy was bad for economic well being.

One of the tenets of the market is that business that fail should not be propped up. As previous head of bank of England said there was an issue of "moral hazard" in bailing out failing business. In this case the Banks.

This in the end didn't apply.

Effectively the Gordon Brown / Alistair Darling government went together with the Bank of England to save the banks through what was termed euphemistically as unorthodox measures. That is the rule book on economic prudence was torn up.

Of course the former head of the bank of England is right. The banks/ financial centre now now for certain that the state will underwrite them. Austerity is for the little people.

 

[SpamMisery]

Oh look, the entire banking industry is on the brink of collapse. Millions will suffer for decades to come. But, if I remember correctly, our neoliberal orthodoxy black and white rule book says we shouldn't intervene.

Come on, the Government isn't going to let a critical industry fall apart just because the BoE is independent.

 

[CH1]

Oh look, the entire banking industry is on the brink of collapse. Millions will suffer for decades to come. But, if I remember correctly, our neoliberal orthodoxy black and white rule book says we shouldn't intervene.

Come on, the Government isn't going to let a critical industry fall apart just because the BoE is independent.

Well the acid test will come if you think they should bail out out of pocket buy-to-let landlords.

 

[Gramsci]

Oh look, the entire banking industry is on the brink of collapse. Millions will suffer for decades to come. But, if I remember correctly, our neoliberal orthodoxy black and white rule book says we shouldn't intervene.

Come on, the Government isn't going to let a critical industry fall apart just because the BoE is independent.

So you are saying the neo liberal orthodoxy is wrong?

Im not sure whether you are agreeing with me or disagreeing.

Which is it?

 

[SpamMisery]

Well the acid test will come if you think they should bail out out of pocket buy-to-let landlords.

Not sure many would class them as critical industry

 

[Gramsci]

Oh look, the entire banking industry is on the brink of collapse. Millions will suffer for decades to come. But, if I remember correctly, our neoliberal orthodoxy black and white rule book says we shouldn't intervene.

Come on, the Government isn't going to let a critical industry fall apart just because the BoE is independent.

I take it you are agreeing with me and the neo liberal orthodoxy was bollox?

 

[Gramsci]

Not sure many would class them as critical industry

In which case you support Corbyns rent controls?

 

[SpamMisery]

I'm just pointing out that rigidly sticking to definitions is not helpful.