ARCH and the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) held a
parliamentary reception at the House of Commons on 2 July to
celebrate 100 years since the 1919 Housing Town Planning Act -
widely referred to as the Addison Act.
This Act gave councils a duty to consider the need for council
housing and marked the beginning of the building of council housing
at scale.
The event, sponsored by IlKE Homes, was attended by
representatives from across Government, local authorities and
ALMOs, including over 50 members of Parliament and Lords as well as
tenants, councillors and officers. It provided an opportunity to
celebrate the vital role council housing has played, and continues
to play, in this country and recognise the need to deliver a new
generation of council housing.
Hosted by Dame Caroline Spelman MP and Matt Western MP, speeches
were made in support of council housing by Housing Minister Kit
Malthouse and Shadow Secretary of State John Healey. ARCH Chair,
Councillor Kim Caddy spoke about the commitment of councils to
solve the housing crisis and NFA Chair Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall
spoke about the value of council housing in her own life and her
community.
Following the very welcome decision of the Government to lift
the HRA borrowing cap, ARCH and NFA member councils and their ALMOs
are keen to play their part in delivering the Government's promise
of a new generation of council housing by building "not just homes
people have to live in, but homes they want to live in, homes they
can be proud to live in".
For more information about the Addison Act and the work councils
and ALMOs are doing to deliver the next generation of council
housing click here to read our two-page Addison
Act briefing.
Watch out for photographs from the Parliamentary Reception in
the next ARCH Bulletin.