Park Homes: Know Know Your Rights

Since our elections to Exeter City Council (in September 2010 and May 2011 respectively), Cllr Heather Morris and I have bee championing the rights of residents in park homes

We found that residents at Exonia Park in our Cowick ward felt neglected, even though living in a mobile home comes with many special problems.

We have learned all about the specific rules and regulations about selling homes (the site owner can charge up to 10% of the sale price - in practice than means the owner does charge 10% - and the blocking of sales for spurious reasons).

To help deal with some of these concerns that are common across all 4 of Exeter's park home sites (Newport Park, Ringswell Park and Rydons, as well as Exonia Park ), Cllr Morris proposed setting up a Mobile Homes Residents Forum, which she now chairs. The Forum meets 3 times a year and minutes are published on Exeter City Council's website

Following a DCLG consultation document, "Park Homes:  A Better Deal for Mobile Home Owners", Heather, Ben Bradshaw MP, Exeter City Council and Exonia Park Residents Association made many and varied representations to the Communities and Local Government Committee on Park Homes which published its report on 20 June 2012.

As a result, the Government have introduced changes to the law [Mobile Homes Act 2013], the majority of which came into force on 26 May 2013 and these are highlighted in a new publication, "Park Homes: Know Your Rights".

This is such an important document that Exeter Council Leader, Cllr Pete Edwards, has suggested that it should be distributed to all park home residnets.

But in summary, this is how the law has changed:
1) Pitch fees
There are new rules about how site owners review pitch fees and what can be included in the review.
Site owners will have to use a special form (which can be filled in on-line or downloaded from here) to inform residents about this - if they don't use this form, the review is invalid and residents will be entitled to a refund of any new pitch fees they may have paid.

2) Selling or gifting your home
In the past site owners have had a say in who can buy or receive a park home as a gift, and some have made it dfificult for residents to sell their home for its real value.

The new law means that residents no longer need to seek the site owner's approval of the new buy - although, in the case of any mobile homes gifted before 26 My 2013, the site owner will need to know who the new buyer is.

There are a series of documents and forms that make all this easier to understand on the Department of Communities and Local Government website.

3) Site rules
Any site rules that interfere with the sale or gift of a mobile home are banned.

The new Act allows for further Regulations to be drafted. The intenstion of this is to ensure that all park rules are uniform and are deposited with the relevant Local Authority.

With this in mind, other changes about site rules will be announced later in the year.

4)  Local Authority Licensing
From 01 April 2014, Local Authorities will be able to better able to make sure that site owners are complying with the terms of the site licence.

Local Authorities will be able to charge for licensing, require site owners to carry out necessary works and prosecute those who fail to comply. The courts will be able to impose unlimited fines on those found guilty of non-compliance.

But building new houses isn't the only way to say #YesToHomes

The sad truth is that no recent Government has done enough to address the issue of house building.I wish that the previous Labour Government had build much more social housing. In the present age of austerity and lack of growth, a massive programme of house building could and should be initiated by the current administration - kickstarting the economy and addressing the problem of lack of housing.

I've already covered what Exeter City Council has been and is doing to build new houses in the city.

But there are other factors that contribute to the chronic housing shortage in the city - a shortage that meant Exeter was highlighted in the national news with the publication of the Resolution Foundation's "Home Truths" report at the beginning of the week.

The report lists Exeter in the one-third of Britain that is effectively off-limits to lower-income working families looking to rent a home privately because they can no longer afford a property.

Government welfare reforms claim to cut the social security.

The vicious Bedroom Tax is such measure  - a quick fix to appease the masses, but doing little to free up family homes. It an ill-conceived policy that it full of contradictions. It  attacks the poor, the vulnerable, the caring, the disabled,the log-term sick and the terminally-ill on housing benefit.

Here in Exeter, bedroom tax affects some 400 families under-occupying Exeter City Council's housing stock of 5000 properties, and 500 families in the 3000 Housing Association properties. 

But that's not to say that all the remaining properties are fully occupied - there are many reasons why the remainder could be under-occupied.

I am proud of ECC's long-term policy of assisting our residents to downsize with grants. We have recently reviewed the policy and are about to appoint a Downsizing Officer to work in a one-to-one scenario to assist - often vulnerable, elderly residents who may have suffered a recent bereavement - people to downsize, freeing up family-sized properties.

Often they will downsize to places like Knights Place - designed as a carbon- neutral, low energy home to help those suffering from fuel poverty.

ECC are currently looking at various other options of Council Own Build. We may not be building many ourselves - but it is depressing to note that those few put us in the top 10 of council's building our own housing stock.

We are about to launch a flexible tenancy policy which will attempt to have the right people living in the right property on the right type of tenancy. It willmean that ECC will be able to actively manage the tenancies of our housing stock. Tenants will still be housed for as long as they need, but not necessarily in the same property for their lifetime. 

More about much of the above can be seen (with links) in this storify feed.

I am pleased that  ECC have taken out a lease on some unoccupied student accommodation near St David;s Station to add to our housing stock. It is hoped that this will provide much needed housing for single people. As you will knowm recent Governement policy menas that under 35 year olds need to be placed in shared accommodation, and this new lease will allow ECC to do so in a cost-effective way.

  

We have an active strategy to deal with homelessness and this issue was discussed at Scrutiny Community in January 2013. I have written a blog on the subject in response to a e-mail campaign organised by 38Degrees.

I am pleased that ECC through pressure from myself and others, have signed up to Shelter's "Evict Rogue Landlords" campaign and we are currently looking at introducing a scheme to licence/approve landlords.

I sometimes wonder if it is time to re-introduce some form of rent control? This will rise from a whisper to a roar when the affects of housing benefit cause many claimants to be financially compromised when Universal Credit starts to roll out across the country from October.

We are actively seeking to return empty homes to use, and a recent Scrutiny Community meeting approved the use of several measures - such as compulsory purchase of long-term empty properties - to return them to use as homes.

We are using the private sector to help deliver homes for people - via private sector leasing and EXtraLet.

As you can see, I view the issue of housing is a big, involved conundrum where the public and private sectors must join together, probably with seed-funding from central Government.

I am happy to say #YesToHomes - I hope you will, too

I say #YesToHomes

Yesterday, my ward co-councillor Heather Morris and myself, were both contacted by one of our residents asking what we were doing about the acute housing shortage in Exeter.















"We are in the middle of a housing shortage that shows little sign of fading.

I believe that we need to build more homes in Exeter and would like to see the council do more to get the right 
homes, in the right places, at the right price for people here.

Do you think we are building enough homes in Exeter City? And what is the council doing to end the housing shortage?"

Too many councillors are willing to say 'no' to new housing because they don't understand the need for homes or are concerned about existing residents."

This e-mail came from the campaign #YesToHomes, organised by the National 

Housing Federation.

I have been saying for a long time that governments of all hues have bee failing intheir duty to provide sufficient decent homes to meet current and future housingneeds.

So it was easy for my to sign up to the campaign's aims: "The right homes being 

built in the right place and at the right price."

What is going to harder is to deliver that aim.

The extent of the current problem was highlighted in last year's report by the NHF "Home Truths: The housing market in South West England".

In the core strategy of the Council, as outlined in the Local Plan adopted in 
February 2012, the aim under policy CP3 is the development of at least 12,000 
new homes across the city over the next 15 years.

At a recent Scrutiny Community meeting held on 28 May 2013, the Portfolio 
Holder for Housing, Cllr Rob Hannaford, presented his priorities for the coming 
year.

Within these priorities is a desire to deliver a complex mix of initiatives to meet 
Exeter's current housing needs. Indeed.Exeter City Council has just finished a 
series of consultation events on a new housing strategy which will be presented tothe Scrutiny Community meeting in the next round of meetings on 03 September 2013.

Looking at the figures for housing planned, in the pipeline, awaiting planning 
permission or in the pre-application stage it appears that in the next few years 
Exeter will see:

5441 market homes - 396 shared ownership - 1336 for affordable rent - 53 for 
social rent = 7226 in total.

The #YesToHomes campaign worried that councillors are saying 'no' to new 
housing because they don't understand the need for homes or are concerned 
about existing residents. The figures above prove that this isn't the case in Exeter.

The campaign is also worried that local residents say 'no' to new housing - 

the NIMBY syndrome. 

NIMBY is a well-known acronym - Not in My Back Yard, but what about 

NOTE - Not Over There Either.

BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.

CAVE - Citizens Against Virtually Everything.

NOPE - Not On Planet Earth.

When the Local Plan proposed a new development expanding the South West of Exeter by up to 500 new homes (accompanied by a plan from Teignbridge DistrictCouncil to add another 2,000 homes on their side of the city boundary), ECC 

planners devised a series of workshops in conjunction with Alphington Village 

Forum. The results of this long-term working together were presented to the 

residents of Alphington at a public meeting at the Village Hall on 18 July 2013.

I hope that this shows that ECC and councillors like myself are saying 

#YesToHomes, and as time goes on this will rise from a whisper to a shout.

ASSOCIATION OF LABOUR COUNCILLORS EXECUTIVE - ELECTIONS 2013

The NEC of the Labour Party agreed, through Refounding Labour, to transform the Association of Labour Councillors (ALC) and empower it to become an effective voice for councillors within the Party. 

Realising that Labour councillors are the backbone of the Labour party, the thermometer of public opinion, and a crucial part of the Labour Party's policy development, as they see the effect of policy implementation on the ground in our communities, Refounding Labour recommends better representation for councillors within the party. The status and support given to Labour councillors needs to be increased throughout the party

Labour Party members can see more about waht Refounding Labour means for Councillors on Membersnet here.[log-in needed]

As part of this process, it was agreed that the ALC would elect an executive committee and start to exercise a series of affiliate rights such as sending delegates and motions to Annual Conference, receiving a vote in any future leadership election as well as the establishment of an annual ALC Conference.

I am standing for election to the ALC Executive as SW Region representative and this is the e-mail I've been sending to councillors around the region.

Dear Labour Councillor

The Refounding Labour document gave a commitment from the Labour Party to support local councillors, and one way of achieving this was relaunching the Association of Labour Councillors [ALC].

I trust that you have have received an e-mail from the Electoral Reform Society with instructions on how to vote in the elections for the SW Region representative on the new ALC Executive.

I had hoped that each candidate's statement would have been attached to that e-mail rather than on the actual voting page. That way, you would have had time for consideration and reflection ahead of the actual voting process.

For you information, I am sending you an expanded version of my candidate statement.

The South West may have little Parliamentary representation, but we do have two more seats than many regions in the South, the area known as the Southern Front where Labour needs to make significant gains in 2015 if we are to form the next Government

The number of Labour Councillors across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset is growing, with both Plymouth and Exeter being Labour administrations with strong working majorities

We are setting the agenda for Labour's revival in the South but are we being heard nationally?

For example, neither Exeter nor Plymouth were represented at the recent Bedroom Tax summit, Why not? Do the big players think that we do not have our own housing stock? Or is it they have forgotten that there ARE Labour Councils and Labour Councillors here in the  South West

The South West region needs strong representation to champion the two bright beacons, and significant dots, of red in amongst the swathes of blue and yellow. So as well as representing the larger groups in the region, I will engage to become the voice of the smaller ones as well, most importantly the significant groups of one, who must feel very isolated.

I want to represent our regional views on the new ALC Executive and with that in mind, I would welcome your vote for me.

I totally embrace social media and will endeavour, if elected, us use these to help connect Labour councillors across the region .

If you want to find out more about me and my views, you can always follow my twitter feed @CllrPaul4Cowick. 

You will see me talking about culture and arts, social justice, welfare cuts (especially the Bedroom Tax), the NHS, changes to Criminal Justice system, public transport, speeding in 20mph zone  and lots else besides.

I am pioneering the use of Storify and use the medium to compile stories from issues that interest me. These feeds can be found at http://storify.com/CllrPaul4Cowick.

I write the (very) occasional blog and use it to ensure a web-presence of ward newsletters.

With my ward co-councillor, Cllr Heather Morris, I help maintain the Cowick Labour Councillors Facebook homepage. This can be found at https://www.facebook.com/CowickCityCouncillorsHomepage

Remember, voting closes will close at 17.00 on 29th July and the results will be released announced by email on the 5th August. This deadline will be strictly adhered to and there will be no exceptions made.

Regards

Paul

===============
Paul Bull
Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Cowick
5 Cranbrook Road
EXETER EX2 5HG
(01392) 275886
paul4cowick@aol.com

Follow me on twitter:

@CllrPaul4Cowick

Many things that interest me are pulled together in Storify threads:

http://storify.com/CllrPaul4Cowick

E&E | Long road to raise wages

27 June 2013

A living wage is needed for all

IT is very welcome news that Exeter City Council has pledged to pay a 'living wage' to its staff (City vows to tackle low wages, Echo, June 20). This is a key Green Party policy and was included in our recent Devon County Council election manifesto.

However, a recent report revealed that average earnings in Exeter have failed to keep pace with the rest of the South West. Key to ensuring decent pay for all is to ensure that the private sector implements a living wage.

On this critical issue Labour in Exeter seem to be resorting to wishful thinking; simply hoping businesses in the city will follow the lead taken by Exeter City Council is not good enough.

This is why the Green Party has advocated the introduction of the Living Wage Employer's Mark, offering accreditation to employers that pay the living wage, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation. Such an accreditation scheme is already in existence, offered by the Living Wage Foundation.

This way, locally based businesses will have something to shout about as they introduce decent pay, and Exeter will really be able to move towards declaring itself a Living Wage City.

Andrew Bell 
Exeter Green Party Policy Officer

11 July 2013
LETTERS

I THANK Andrew Bell for his qualified welcome of the news that Exeter City Council has pledge to a 'living wage' to its staff (A living wage is needed by all, Letters, June 27).

I echo his view that it is wishful thinking that to hope that businesses in the city will follow the lead taken by Exeter City Council.

That is why myself and my Labour colleagues have had long and in-depth discussions at local party level.

That is why I welcomed the excellent report on low average earnings in Exeter that came before Scrutiny Committee – Economy on May 30. He may be interested to know that the committee recommended that the scrutiny economy and executives "consider mechanisms that would provide the means to ensure that the City strives to achieve higher wage levels" .

One of those mechanisms was to be considered was the establishment of a task and finish group.

At the subsequent executive committee meeting, Cllr Rosie Denham, as portfolio holder economy and culture, put forward a proposal to establish a low wage forum, to consider the impact of low wages and high cost of living on Exeter residents and identify strategies to address these issues. This forum would invite representatives from the university, local businesses and community groups to come along to give views and evidence to councillors. I want to ensure that I never hear comments like "people should be pleased to work here and be happy with low pay – just look at the views".

I am sure that this new forum will address many issues, including how to encourage as many businesses as possible to follow Exeter City Council's lead. I would imagine that the forum would enter into meaningful dialogue with the Living Wage Foundation.

I, for one, have no illusions how hard this journey will be but I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. So this is no simple wishful thinking, but the start of robust positive action to encourage city businesses to follow the lead set by the strong Labour administration on Exeter City Council.

Paul Bull

Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Cowick

It is time to Unite The Party with Unite The Union

For the past week, I have been reading and hearing about the Labour Party being in meltdown over the issue of choosing a successor to Eric Joyce in the parliamentary constituency of Falkirk.

Today in the Guardian, Eric Joyce himself written a thoughtful piece, full of insight, under the Comment is Free banner.

So is the Labour Party in meltdown over this issue? That's not the vision I'm seeing, but there are local difficulties, to be sure.

Here's my own take on the controversy...

To start with, I am a proud trade union member.

Since I started work, I been a trade unionist.

I wish more worker were trade union members. We're not all about strikes. There are many other benefits, like supporting and representing members in grievance and disciplinary meetings and negotiating pay and conditions.

I joined NATKE (National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees) when I started as have a assistant electrician with responsibility for sound at Bolton Octagon in 1978.

I've been with the same union throughout my career, through it's various guises until its present incarnation as BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union). I know the union prefers it written Bectu but its an acronym and as such deserves capitals. And it keeps me and the members ground - we know the community it serves.

I happily pay the political levy and am happy that my small union stands alongside the other 14 trades unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party.

I wish that more trade union members felt that Labour Party membership went hand-in-hand with trade union membership.

i was a trade unionist before I was a member of the Labour Party, which I formally joined in 1986 (ahead to the General Election to support a close friend who was the Parliamentary candidate for Blaby and contesting the seat won by Nigel Lawson).

So onto membership. it is possible to join in many ways including on-line and using a hard copy membership form (note it asks for TU membership, although it is an option not mandatory.

The 2013 Labour Party Rule Book has a whole appendix on procedural guidelines on membership recruitment and retention (page 63-66)

I'm not sure how many members the Falkirk Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has now and in the past, but it looks like many of these guidelines may not have been followed in Falkirk. That seems to be the problem

I know the my CLP, Exeter, has a vibrant and active membership but nowhere near the peaks of the past. We meet most months (avoid election months, August and December) and the regular business includes approving new members.

I can assure you that if new members applied at the current rate it would take many years to give them the working majority to ensure their choice of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate.

Certainly the figure of up to 150 new Unite The Union members - whether knowingly or unwittingly - signing up to Falkirk CLP would not be anywhere enough to have a built-in majority at any selection meeting in Exeter.

And as yet, Exeter CLP have seen no massive influx of new members to influence the selection of our candidate for the 2015 General Election.

And it's too late for them to do so now, as the membership lists have now been frozen as SW Region have announced the trigger ballot process.

And the local branches also have a role in mmebership recuitment, approval and retention.

I am the Branch Secretary of the Whipton Barton& Heavitree Branch and along with the membership secretary and local councillors try and welcome all new members to the Branch. We keep them informed and they are invited to our monthly meetings.

Eric Joyce in this article mentions that "Others found it impossible to find out who the new members were, as the chair would not allow branch secretaries access to their membership list."

As WBH Branch secretary, I and Branch membership secretary have direct access to our branch membership records via the national membership scheme. This is totally independent of CLP influence, although I have to admit you need to know about it.

There are worrying aspects over the Falkirk saga but it points to a dysfunctional CLP rater than meltdown for the whole of the Labour Party