Govt pushing right to buy just when we need more social housing

I've had a few days away so just catching up but had to blog on this issue....at a time of acute shortage of social housing the government has just set up a new website with a national helpline to encourage right to buy. Makes you want to weep.  Already councils provide info about the sale of houses, why duplicate?

Councillor Andrew Cooper , Chair of the Association of Green Councillors said recently: "At a time when public money is being made scarce by the government it beggars belief that the Coalition are increasing the subsidy on the sale of Council Housing to up to £75000. At a time when we need more social housing to give people an option to have an affordable home to rent it is crazy that we are selling off into private ownership much valued public assets....One of the fundamental lessons the economic crisis we are facing should teach us is that saddling households with years of mortgage debt they cannot afford is nonsensical."

Here in Stroud at the recent Council meeting there are discussions about how best to proceed to retain as much as possible from the sale of homes for the local area - it is a complex issue and we don't want to be building new homes in the area only to see them sold immediately at a discount (see item 8 re Right to Buy at Council meeting).