Northgate-is - News Item 967

Stop the empty property rot says Northgate

Billions of pounds are being wasted by the soaring problem of empty homes. Many of these properties continue to benefit from a 50 per cent discount for council tax, according to a leading provider of transformation services, which is calling on the government to stop the empty property rot that blights our local communities. 

Northgate Public Services is today backing the call for a national strategy to end the scandal of empty property. It is demanding that government takes urgent action following the publication of the latest authoritative reports by the Audit Commission and Halifax Building Society in the last two months. It wants government to:

• remove the discretionary council tax on empty properties
• consider allowing local authorities to impose punitive levels of council tax for property for very long term empty properties
• introduce a statutory duty for local authorities to develop empty property strategies
• reduce VAT from 17.5% to 5% for the refurbishment of empty properties
• give housing associations the right to apply to the Homes and Communities Agency for the repair and purchase of run down empty homes
• enable empty properties in the public sector to be transferred to parts of the public sector or housing associations under the Public Request Disposal Order system which allows the public to request the disposal of empty public sector property

The latest Halifax Survey result shows that the number of long term private empty homes has risen to 303,285, the highest level since April 2003. There is a clear inequality gap and North/South Divide. Empty properties are associated with higher levels of deprivation – such as lower earnings and more unemployment. The recent Audit Commission report shows that by bringing only five per cent of empty homes back in to use, councils could cut their homelessness costs by as much as £500 million. Every £1 spent on providing housing support for vulnerable people can save nearly £2 in reduced costs of health services, tenancy failure, crime and residential care.

Russell Osborne, Managing Director of Citizen Solutions at Northgate Public Services, said today: “Many of the local authorities that we work with have good policies to tackle empty homes. Yet others are doing too little or nothing at all. My fear is that things will only get worse and not better. Therefore, we are calling on the government to attack the pernicious waste of empty property in our local communities, to introduce a statutory duty for local authorities, and to stop the council tax discount that is of negative public value. Why should we pay for the waste of an empty home when our council taxes could be better spent on promoting community well being? It is simply an economic nonsense that the government must not tolerate in an economic downturn.”

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For more information

Fellows’ Associates
Kathy Sutton   +44(0)20 7324 6221; +44(0)7966 890401
Konstantinos Makrygiannis    +44(0)20 7324 6222; +44(0)7949 421356

Notes to Editors

1. Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people’s needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.

2. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships.

3. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies. Founded in 1969, the company has nearly 8,000 employees. To support local authorities deliver their empty homes strategies, the company has recently launched an empty homes service that is supporting local councils to bring empty properties back into use.