Government Housing Policies - Essay Example

These strategies include the following: more new homes will be built to seek balance between housing supply and demand. New home ownership schemes that will give greater choice and opportunity to first time buyers, social tenants, key workers and people who rent privately. All social housing will meet the decent homes standard. Home information packs will be available, to make it easier to buy and sell a home. There is also a housing market renewal program that is transforming areas where deprivation is significantly reducing life chances.

(McRae 35) There is also the supporting people program that helps vulnerable people improve their quality of life. The local authorities are taking an increasingly strategic role on housing. Their role starts from their unique ability to identify local needs and priorities. No one is better suited in identification of needs and priorities of the local community than the local authorities. Local authorities do this in the knowledge that the quantity, quality and the type of housing are essential to the health and wealth of an area.

The local authorities can take an overview across all sectors using their planning powers as well as housing policy to deliver national, regional, local and community needs. Local authorities are also better placed to work with other players in the sector including housing associations, regional housing and planning bodies, private sector as well as residents to deliver successful communities. (Mc Rae 33-35)Being the leaders in their communities, the authorities can also develop and drive forward housing strategies for their areas.

Co-coordinating the involvement of stakeholders and partners in the strategic process. Each strategy should be a document that reviews, housing related issues in a local authority's area, sets out its housing objectives, establishes priorities for action informed by an analysis of need and consultation with key stakeholders and provides a clear Action Plan Focusing on key priorities. (Mathew 293)Regional housing strategies identify key priorities in each region. The strategies, also ensure a link with regional economic and spatial strategies, identify sub-regional themes and provide a basis on which decisions on housing capital investment can be made.

All nine English regions produced their first strategies August 2003 and updated them in 2005. In every region, there is a regional housing board that is responsible for production of the strategy. However, in 2006, the responsibility of production of the plans was passed on to the regional assemblies and in London, the major has the responsibility. Regional housing documents are non-statutory documents. This means that they belong to the region and are not signed off by cabinet ministers: (McRae 35)These strategies may vary from region to region but generally, a regional housing strategy should aim to achieve the following: (McRae 35)Set out a picture of the current housing situation in the region.

The strategy should be based on robust up-to-date evidence.The strategy should cover all tenures of housing and not just social housing.The strategies should set out a vision for the region as well as setting out priorities for action.The strategy should cover the medium to long term.It should identify sub-regio