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<meta name="Title" content="ROOF Magazine - Huge rise in unresolved asylum cases revealed"/>
<meta name="Description" content="Labour’s record on tackling asylum faces a fresh onslaught today over figures that show a new backlog of 30,000 cases…"/>
<meta name="Subject" content="Huge rise in unresolved asylum cases revealed"/>
<meta name="Publisher" content="ROOF Magazine, Shelter, 88 Old Street, London EC1V 9HU United Kingdom; roof@shelter.org.uk."/>
<meta name="Date" content="26 February 2024"/>
<meta name="Keywords" content="government, immigration, Government, Labour, labour, asylum, immigrant, backlog, targets, home office"/>
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<li><a href="/">ROOF</a></li>
<li><a href="../../roofblog">ROOF Blog</a></li><li>February 2010</li>
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<h1>ROOF Blog archive</h1>
<div id="blogpage_description">
<p>Displaying ROOF Blog articles from <strong>February 2010</strong></p>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/huge_rise_in_unresolved_asylum_cases_revealed">Huge rise in unresolved asylum cases revealed</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">26/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Labour’s record on tackling asylum faces <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/feb/26/immigration" title="a fresh onslaught today">a fresh onslaught today</a> over figures that show a new backlog of 30,000 cases and a warning by the government’s immigration watchdog that its targets are currently ‘unachievable’. John Vine also makes clear that a special five-year exercise which began in 2006 to clear the legacy of 450,000 unresolved asylum cases is now unlikely to meet its July 2011 target completion date. The setbacks mean that despite progress the Labour government will go into the general election campaign unable to claim that the asylum system has been fixed after John Reid famously declared the Home Office’s immigration directorate ‘unfit for purpose’ in May 2006.
</p>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="government">government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/immigration" title="immigration">immigration</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="Government">Government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Labour" title="Labour">Labour</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Labour" title="labour">labour</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/asylum" title="asylum">asylum</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/immigrant" title="immigrant">immigrant</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/backlog" title="backlog">backlog</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/targets" title="targets">targets</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/home-office" title="home office">home office</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/spectre_of_double-dip_recession_looms_over_uk">Spectre of double-dip recession looms over UK</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">26/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Fears of a double-dip recession and a sterling crisis in the run-up to the election <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/26/double-dip-recession-fears" title="were raised last night">were raised last night</a> amid news of collapsing investment in British industry and a warning from one of the world’s leading financiers that the pound could plummet within weeks. The pound fell sharply on the foreign exchange markets after a day of grim economic news which saw an admission from RBS that it had missed government targets for business lending, a downgrading of the UK growth prospects by the European commission and a warning from the CBI that consumer spending was likely to remain weak ahead of polling day.
</p>
</div>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="government">government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="recession">recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="Government">Government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/lending" title="lending">lending</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="Recession">Recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/election" title="election">election</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/investment" title="investment">investment</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/business" title="business">business</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/consumer" title="consumer">consumer</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/targets" title="targets">targets</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/shelter_wins_landmark_legal_aid-funded_case">Shelter wins landmark Legal Aid-funded case</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">25/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Shelter has won <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/news/february_2010/shelter_wins_Legal_Aid_-funded_case" title="an historic legal case">an historic legal case</a> at the European Court of Justice on behalf of a homeless woman with four small children. The case was wholly funded by the Government’s legal aid services. Shelter represented Nimco Hassan Ibrahim, a mother of four children, after her housing application was turned down by Harrow Council. The case, which lasted three years, finally went before the European Court of Justice who ruled in favour of Mrs Ibrahim. Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: ‘Shelter did not fund this case, as claimed in a daily newspaper, and none of our funding or donations from the public or corporate sponsors has been used. The case was wholly funded by legal aid through the Legal Services Commission.’
</p>
</div>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/homelessness" title="homelessness">homelessness</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Shelter" title="Shelter">Shelter</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/homelessness" title="Homelessness">Homelessness</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Shelter" title="shelter">shelter</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/homeless" title="homeless">homeless</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Court-of-Appeal" title="Court of Appeal">Court of Appeal</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/European-Court-of-Justice" title="European Court of Justice">European Court of Justice</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/landmark-case" title="landmark case">landmark case</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/judgment" title="judgment">judgment</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/legal-aid" title="legal aid">legal aid</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/mixed_message_on_house_market_recovery">Mixed messages on house market recovery</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">25/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Two of the biggest bellwethers of the housing market yesterday provided <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/barratt-and-travis-perkins-offer-mixed-message-on-house-market-1909812.html" title="mixed messages">mixed messages</a> on the recovery of the UK property sector. While the housebuilder Barratt Developments boasted an improved trading performance and an uplift in selling prices over the six months to 31 December, Travis Perkins, the owner of the DIY retail chain Wickes, reported a slump in annual sales at its eponymous builders’ merchants, and warned that it was unable to predict when the group will return to growth. Barratt Developments’ buoyant update came against the backdrop of stark warnings on the economy and housing market by Kate Barker, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, on Monday, that the rally over the last 12 months cannot continue.
</p>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-market" title="housing market">housing market</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing" title="housing">housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/economy" title="economy">economy</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/property" title="property">property</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Travis-Perkins" title="Travis Perkins">Travis Perkins</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/monetary-policy-committee" title="monetary policy committee">monetary policy committee</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/builders--merchants" title="builders' merchants">builders' merchants</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/selling-price" title="selling price">selling price</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/trading-performance" title="trading performance">trading performance</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/monetary-policy-committee" title="Monetary Policy Committee">Monetary Policy Committee</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/oldest_building_society_bows_out_after_165_years">Oldest building society bows out after 165 years</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">25/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Britain’s oldest building society is <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article7039953.ece" title="to be taken over">to be taken over</a> by the much larger Skipton Building Society. The Chesham, which was founded in 1845, said that it had been badly squeezed by economic and interest rate conditions and was loss-making at the operating level last year. The society boasts 20,000 members and three branches in the Buckinghamshire commuter towns of Chesham, Aylesbury and Little Chalfont. Skipton has promised to keep the three branches and an agency in Tring open for at least 12 months. There will be no compulsory redundancies among branch staff, but some head office employees will lose their jobs. The deal will require approval from both Chesham members and the Financial Services Authority.
</p>
</div>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/economy" title="economy">economy</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/FSA" title="FSA">FSA</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/interest-rate" title="interest rate">interest rate</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/building-society" title="building society">building society</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/loss-making" title="loss-making">loss-making</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Financial-Services-Authority" title="Financial Services Authority">Financial Services Authority</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/buckinghamshire" title="buckinghamshire">buckinghamshire</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/redundancy" title="redundancy">redundancy</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/skipton" title="skipton">skipton</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/chesham" title="chesham">chesham</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/council_tax_bills_set_for_lowest_rise_in_april">Council tax bills set for ‘lowest rise’ in April</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">24/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>The average cost of Band D council tax bills in England for 2010/11 is <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8533369.stm" title="set to increase by the lowest percentage since the tax was introduced in 1993">set to increase by the lowest percentage since the tax was introduced in 1993</a>. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and local authorities predict rises of below 2%. A CIPFA survey suggests the average bill will be about £1,438.72. CIPFA head of policy Ian Carruthers said although politicians had listened to calls to ‘avoid large increases’, financial pressures meant councils might still have to cut certain services.
</p>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/local-authority" title="local authority">local authority</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="Council">Council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="council">council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/council-tax" title="council tax">council tax</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/taxpayer" title="taxpayer">taxpayer</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/services" title="services">services</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/band-d" title="band d">band d</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/mortgage_lending_hits_8-year_low">Mortgage lending hits 8-year low</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">24/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>The end of stamp duty relief at the start of the year has helped cause a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/7298115/Mortgage-lending-hits-8-year-low.html" title="substantial dip in mortgage lending during January">substantial dip in mortgage lending during January</a>, with just £8.02 billion lent during the month, the lowest level since March 2001. This compares with an average monthly amount of about £18 billion during 2007. The data, released by the British Bankers’ association, are the latest figures to suggest the economy will endure a slow recovery, after signs of optimism at the end of last year. A leading member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee warned today that the housing market could be ‘weak’ during 2010.
</p>
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/mortgage" title="mortgage">mortgage</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-market" title="housing market">housing market</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="recession">recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/economy" title="economy">economy</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/stamp-duty" title="stamp duty">stamp duty</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/borrower" title="borrower">borrower</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/lending" title="lending">lending</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="Recession">Recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/borrowing" title="borrowing">borrowing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/monetary-policy-committee" title="monetary policy committee">monetary policy committee</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/clg_announces_pound500m_for_affordable_homes">CLG announces £500m for affordable homes</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">24/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Housing minister John Healey has <a href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1482629" title="announced a boost to house building in England">announced a boost to house building in England</a>, by confirming nearly £500million funding to build around 8,000 affordable homes across the country. This takes total government funding for house building to £3.5 billion since June. Over 3,000 of these new homes are expected to be available through the government’s HomeBuy schemes, offering first time buyers a helping hand onto the property ladder. And nearly 5,000 homes will be available for affordable rent through housing associations.
</p>
</div>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/affordability" title="affordability">affordability</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing" title="housing">housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/affordability" title="Affordability">Affordability</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/house-building" title="house building">house building</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/affordable-rent" title="affordable rent">affordable rent</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/property-ladder" title="property ladder">property ladder</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-associations" title="housing associations">housing associations</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/CLG" title="CLG">CLG</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government-funding" title="government funding">government funding</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/john-healey" title="john healey">john healey</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/foreclosure_on_the_rise_in_the_usa">Foreclosure on the rise in the USA</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">23/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>With a growing number of Americans facing negative equity and becoming ever more pessimistic about the prospects of house prices recovering to make up that difference, they are surrendering to foreclosure even though they can still meet the repayments, <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f28c3166-201a-11df-81a2-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1" title="according to reports">according to reports</a>. The trend is clear in recent rates of non-payment, or delinquency, on mortgages. In January, delinquencies on outstanding ‘jumbo’ mortgages - big loans granted to people with good credit histories - rose to 9.6 per cent, according to Fitch Ratings. Many of these problem loans, which have gone unserviced for 60 days or more, were taken out after 2005. And nonpayment is increasing not just in hard-hit states such as California: in New York, Florida, Virginia and New Jersey they are all on the rise too.
</p>
</div>
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/mortgage" title="mortgage">mortgage</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-market" title="housing market">housing market</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/house-prices" title="house prices">house prices</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/negative-equity" title="negative equity">negative equity</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/America" title="America">America</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/USA" title="USA">USA</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/repayments" title="repayments">repayments</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/foreclosure" title="foreclosure">foreclosure</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/problem-loan" title="problem loan">problem loan</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/delinquency" title="delinquency">delinquency</a></p>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/tories_release_planning_green_paper">Tories release planning green paper</a></h2>
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<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">23/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>The Conservative party has finally <a href="http://www.building.co.uk/regen_story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3158604&channel=485&c=3" title="published its long awaited planning green paper">published its long awaited planning green paper</a> which includes proposing the scrapping of centrally-set housing targets and replacing them with a system of financial incentives for local councils to build. As expected, the green paper also includes introducing a presumption in favour of sustainable development at the base of the system, whilst giving neighbours the right to force the council to review a planning application. However the Tories said they will limit the right of residents or developers to appeal planning decisions once the decision has been taken, and will replace the planned introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy with a ‘tariff’.
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing" title="housing">housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/planning" title="planning">planning</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/local-authority" title="local authority">local authority</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="Council">Council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="council">council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/sustainability" title="sustainability">sustainability</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Developers" title="Developers">Developers</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/sustainable-development" title="sustainable development">sustainable development</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/conservative" title="conservative">conservative</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/residents" title="residents">residents</a></p>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/families_face_eviction_as_ministers_tackle_pound17_billion_rental_bill">Families face eviction as ministers tackle £17 billion rental bill</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">22/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Ministers are to crack down on excessive housing benefit payments in a <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7035746.ece" title="series of reforms">series of reforms</a> designed to curb the increasing £17 billion annual rental bill. Yvette Cooper, the work and pensions secretary, plans to cap the highest rates paid to private landlords — as much as £1,800 a week — to stop families on benefit living in palatial homes at the taxpayers’ expense. The reforms are expected to save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, but could result in hundreds of families being evicted from expensive accommodation with six months’ notice. The housing benefit bill, which covers rents in the private and social sector, has jumped from £11 billion in 1998 to £17.4 billion in 2008-09 and goes to 4.5 million claimants. The Treasury has forecast that this will rise to £20 billion by 2011 because of the recession, rising private rents and a critical shortage of social housing. The average rent in social housing is only £72 a week against £108 in the private sector.
</p>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/social-housing" title="social housing">social housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="recession">recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-benefit" title="housing benefit">housing benefit</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/accommodation" title="accommodation">accommodation</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/landlord" title="landlord">landlord</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/social-housing" title="Social housing">Social housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/eviction" title="eviction">eviction</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/recession" title="Recession">Recession</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/families" title="families">families</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/private-rented-sector" title="private rented sector">private rented sector</a></p>
</div>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/mortgage_lending_at_10-year_low">Mortgage lending at 10-year low</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">22/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Gross mortgage lending in January fell to the lowest level in 10 years as buyers were deterred by the end of the stamp duty holiday, <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/135295e2-1d83-11df-a893-00144feab49a.html" title="figures showed this week">figures showed this week</a> – but experts have warned that lending could decline further as banks lose government funding support. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), gross mortgages totalled just £9.1bn in January, down 32 per cent from the £13.4bn in December. This is the lowest monthly total since February 2000, when gross lending was £7.9bn. While a seasonal fall is usual between December and January, the CML said the drop was ‘larger than average’ due to higher purchase activity in December, as borrowers rushed to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday on properties valued less than £175,000.
</p>
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/mortgage" title="mortgage">mortgage</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="government">government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/government" title="Government">Government</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/stamp-duty" title="stamp duty">stamp duty</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/lending" title="lending">lending</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/CML" title="CML">CML</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/borrowing" title="borrowing">borrowing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/properties" title="properties">properties</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council-of-Mortgage-Lenders" title="Council of Mortgage Lenders">Council of Mortgage Lenders</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/buyers" title="buyers">buyers</a></p>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/regulation_of_estate_agents_ruled_out">Regulation of estate agents ruled out</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">18/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Estate agents are to be given a clean bill of health and escape a regulatory crackdown when a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/18/oft-regulations-estate-agents" title="year-long investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reports its findings later today">year-long investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reports its findings later today</a>. Despite repeated calls over a number of years by consumer bodies and even some agents’ groups, the OFT will conclude that the industry is generally working in consumers’ best interests and that a regulatory regime is not required. Over the last 12 months, the OFT has been investigating all aspects of the process of buying and selling homes in the UK, including price competition, quality of service, and whether the industry needs to be regulated. Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: ‘Buying a home is often the largest single transaction of a person’s life and it is disappointing that the OFT has not thought it appropriate to acknowledge that a robust and appropriate level of consumer protection is needed.’
</p>
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<div class="blog_tags">
<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing" title="housing">housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/estate-agent" title="estate agent">estate agent</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/consumers" title="consumers">consumers</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/homebuyer" title="homebuyer">homebuyer</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/regulation" title="regulation">regulation</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/OFT" title="OFT">OFT</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/office-of-fair-trading" title="office of fair trading">office of fair trading</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/buying-a-home" title="buying a home">buying a home</a></p>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/councils_must_save_by_helping_older_people_help_themselves">Councils ‘must save by helping older people help themselves’</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">18/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Councils will struggle to cope with the financial challenge posed by England’s ageing population and may miss opportunities to innovate and save, <a href="http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/Pages/20100218councilsmustsavebyhelpingolderpeoplehelpthemselves.aspx" title="says a new report from the Audit Commission">says a new report from the Audit Commission</a>. ‘Under Pressure’ says most councils do not know enough about the costs of their ageing population. They may also miss the savings that could flow from preventive services and better work with other organisations. Michael O’Higgins, Chairman of the Audit Commission, said: ‘Most older people live at home, not in care homes. And the longer they do, the happier they are and the less they cost the taxpayer. Innovative, personalised services mean older people stay independent longer, saving public money.’
</p>
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="Council">Council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/elderly" title="elderly">elderly</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/Council" title="council">council</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/ageing-population" title="ageing population">ageing population</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/older-people" title="older people">older people</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/social-care" title="social care">social care</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/care-home" title="care home">care home</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/preventative-services" title="preventative services">preventative services</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/audit-commission" title="audit commission">audit commission</a></p>
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<div class="blog_item clearfix">
<h2><a href="../../roofblog/2010/02/house_building_figures_fall_by_half">House building figures fall by half</a></h2>
<div class="clearfix">
<div class="post_details">
<p class="blog_date">18/02/2024</p>
<p class="blog_author"><strong>Posted by:</strong><br/>Renata Watson</p>
</div>
<div class="summary">
<p>Housing statistics for the final quarter of 2008 show <a href="http://www.aboutproperty.co.uk/news/home-improvement/building-and-renovations/government-house-building-figures-released-70874.htm" title="a record low for the number of new homes being built">a record low for the number of new homes being built</a>. Housing starts (the number of private new homes under construction) were down 58 per cent from Q4 of 2007. Private enterprise housing starts were 64 per cent lower than the December quarter of 2007, with annual housing starts figures for England continuing to decline, totaling 105,000 in 2008, down some 37 per cent compared with 2007 and 43 per cent below their 2005-06 peak. Chairman of the Local Government Association housing board, Cllr Paul Bettison, said: ‘The slowdown in private sector house building will eventually affect the amount of affordable housing that is being built. This will mean fewer new social homes at a time when there will be more demand for them.’
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<p><strong>Tags: </strong><a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/affordable-housing" title="affordable housing">affordable housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing" title="housing">housing</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/house-building" title="house building">house building</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/new-homes" title="new homes">new homes</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/construction" title="construction">construction</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/social-homes" title="social homes">social homes</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/private-sector" title="private sector">private sector</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/new-starts" title="new starts">new starts</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/housing-statistics" title="housing statistics">housing statistics</a>, <a href="../../roofblog/tags/tag/private-enterprise" title="private enterprise">private enterprise</a></p>
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