A sensible suggestion...

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There has been a great deal made of evicting rioters from their council houses and I can see the point. But - unless a wholesale reworking of the law is pushed through sharpish - the process of eviction from social housing is long-winded and subject to inevitable vagaries of that law's interpretation by lawyers, magistrates and judges.

So I was pleased hear - from a woman called Lesley Pullman - on the Radio this morning a really sensible suggestion. Rather than trying to evict rioters (or indeed other anti-social tenants), change the nature of the tenancy. Mrs Pullman pointed out that the lifetime tenancy in social housing was prized by these people as it provides protection from eviction - indeed some cases take up to three years. By allowing councils and other social landlords to convert the tenancies of anti-social residents to a normal assured shorthold, you provide a strong tool as well as making any subsequent eviction far easier.

Sadly the Labour MP on the programme (New Puritan smokophobe, Kevin Barron) wasn't listening - but nothing new there!

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This is not how you conduct a consultation with tenants...

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Labour-run Stevenage Borough Council is proposing to scrap its "arms length management organisation" (ALMO) and bring its housing management back "in-house". It is required to consult with tenants - and this is it:

Ann Webb, executive member for housing at Stevenage Council, has said the authority is aiming to consult tenants over the next fortnight.

Stevenage has 8,000 houses - giving this number of tenants just two weeks is appalling.

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