• THE government’s White Paper promised to fix our broken housing market, but all we got was a damp squib.

There is no new money for council homes, yet we all know that Islington desperately needs more genuinely affordable housing. That is why the council is investing £40million in this year alone to deliver the biggest house-building programme for 30 years.

In 2014, Labour-led Islington Council pledged to deliver 2,000 new, genuinely affordable homes, including 500 council homes, by 2019, and we are on track to meet this target.

For private renters, promises of more security and protection are welcome, but warm words alone do not lead to secure warm homes for families trapped in private renting.

The government cannot pretend to take security for families seriously if it is also pressing ahead with plans to end lifetime tenancies for council properties and forcing councils to sell off council homes.

The council will continue to fight the most damaging elements of the government’s housing plans.

CLLR DIARMAID WARD
Labour executive member for housing and development