When asked to describe the greatest obstacle to political success, Harold Macmillan famously replied, "events, dear boy, events". And it is events that have temporarily changed my timesale for the next part of the social care series; as how could I not make some comment on yesterday's reshuffle? By no means as dramatic as another feature of Macmillan's time in office - the 1962 reshuffle when seven cabinet ministers were culled - it nonetheless changes the landscape in which housing associations operate.
Before the reshuffle, blogs were already predicting the move to Party Chairman of the now departed Housing Minister Grant Shapps. It is fashionable to decry his period of tenure, although Jules Birch rightly points out that he has done some things to celebrate. To Jules' list, I'd add finding a way to run some kind of Affordable Homes Programme in November 2010 when his Department out-argued MoD, sunk their aircraft carrier and gained Treasury approval for the money for at least some kind of new homes.
If there really is a £10bn construction boost then that too is some kind of legacy (although how much closer does relying on a Government guarantee take us housing associations to the "Public Body" status and all that goes with it?). I will also miss his set piece performances - whilst substance was sometimes a little light and even occasionally distasteful, I had to admire the easy charm with which he deflected and disarmed his critics - no doubt the very telegenic skills that have seen him elevated to his new role and a seat in Cabinet.
Mark Prisk (his site has a blog of sorts where we learn that he was born in Cornwall, sings in the parliament choir and has voted to protect green belt land) inherits the brief after a spell as Minister of State for Business and Enterprise. So it's true, housing policy is no more about who gets housed, but about who gets employed. His website seems most proud of his role there in cutting red tape, so those like me hoping that a new housing minister might finally realise the need to regulate the private rented sector look set to be disappointed.
Top of his agenda has to be to build more homes, but it will be interesting to see how he does this. Shapps' faith in the private sector meant that while housing associations were squeezed so that their balance sheet strength was under-used to build fewer homes, the developers' profits were plumped to incentivise them to build more - only they didn't, preferring to sit back and wait for even more "plumping". Prisk might usefully look again at whether this dogmatic approach needs to be replaced by a much more practical one.
Next he will need to look carefully at how we provide for those whose housing needs are out of the mainstream. Building specialist housing, or extra-care, or tailored homes for those with the worst disabilities creates no more jobs, but does take more cash - so if value for money is to be measured as "jobs per pound", these sectors are in danger of losing out.
And finally, of course, he needs to get a Twitter account (as of ten minutes ago @MarkPriskMP is available); or how else will the rest of us get to smile at his debates with the likes of @LaraOyedele.
Welcome Minister, we look forward to building new homes with you.
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| Mark Prisk, soon to be @markpriskMP |
If there really is a £10bn construction boost then that too is some kind of legacy (although how much closer does relying on a Government guarantee take us housing associations to the "Public Body" status and all that goes with it?). I will also miss his set piece performances - whilst substance was sometimes a little light and even occasionally distasteful, I had to admire the easy charm with which he deflected and disarmed his critics - no doubt the very telegenic skills that have seen him elevated to his new role and a seat in Cabinet.
Mark Prisk (his site has a blog of sorts where we learn that he was born in Cornwall, sings in the parliament choir and has voted to protect green belt land) inherits the brief after a spell as Minister of State for Business and Enterprise. So it's true, housing policy is no more about who gets housed, but about who gets employed. His website seems most proud of his role there in cutting red tape, so those like me hoping that a new housing minister might finally realise the need to regulate the private rented sector look set to be disappointed.
Top of his agenda has to be to build more homes, but it will be interesting to see how he does this. Shapps' faith in the private sector meant that while housing associations were squeezed so that their balance sheet strength was under-used to build fewer homes, the developers' profits were plumped to incentivise them to build more - only they didn't, preferring to sit back and wait for even more "plumping". Prisk might usefully look again at whether this dogmatic approach needs to be replaced by a much more practical one.
Next he will need to look carefully at how we provide for those whose housing needs are out of the mainstream. Building specialist housing, or extra-care, or tailored homes for those with the worst disabilities creates no more jobs, but does take more cash - so if value for money is to be measured as "jobs per pound", these sectors are in danger of losing out.
And finally, of course, he needs to get a Twitter account (as of ten minutes ago @MarkPriskMP is available); or how else will the rest of us get to smile at his debates with the likes of @LaraOyedele.
Welcome Minister, we look forward to building new homes with you.
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