A Memorial Service and Concert to celebrate the life of Peter Ambrose will be held on Monday 12th November at 2.00pm-3.30pm at St JohnsChurch,73 Waterloo Road,London,SE1 8TY. Tea, coffee and cakes at the church will follow the service.
Private rented sector – good in parts
By Dr Stephen Battersby and Rev Paul Nicolson The housing market suffers from the lack of ethical foundation in the model of the free market followed by UK governments since the 1980s; hence the richest citizens, particularly landowners, become excessively asset and income rich and the poorest citizens are forced to call on food banks. In an inflated and overvalued housing market home owners have equity that can be used for paying health and care costs but renters do not, which is inequitable and further increases the social gradient in health. The Pro-Housing Alliance recommendations are: It will take too long to increase the supply of housing of all tenures needed by UK citizens; therefore the market should be brought under control quickly. Rents should be capped. Market rents have led to increased Housing Benefit costs. Landlords should be required either to be members of an accreditation scheme that is acceptable to the local authority and includes a requirement for training or they should be licensed to let properties. Where there is a breach of the repairing obligation under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 no rent should be payable. Where the local authority takes action under Part 1 of
Professor Peter Ambrose 1933 – 2012
Professor Peter Ambrose 1933 – 2012 Professor Peter Ambrose died peacefully on the morning of the 22st August. He had been struggling against cancer for several months. His condition deteriorated sharply resulting in a couple of falls in the night. The ambulance was called and he was made comfortable; but by the morning he had died. Working with Peter was always both informative and fun. My last e-mail from him was on the 20th August. We had both read about a legal decision which showed the law to be more than the usual ass. We both love Gilbert and Sullivan and can quote chunks of the patter songs. I had sent him the first lines of the Lord Chancellor’s song from Iolanthe as a comment on that decision. The law is the true embodiment of everything that’s excellent, It has no kind of fault or flaw, and I Mi’Lords embody the Law. Peter answered with the next lines; . The constitutional guardian I of pretty young Wards in Chancery All very agreeable girls and none are over the age of 21. The email before that on the same day provided six horror stories about overcrowding in the London Private Rented
PHA’s submission to the Banking Standards Inquiry
Pro-Housing Alliance submission to the Banking Standards Inquiry 20 August 2012 Drafted by Professor Peter Ambrose, Visiting Professor in Housing and Health, University of Brighton, and agreed by; Dr Stephen Battersby, Chair PHA, past President of the Institute of Environmental Health. Stephen Hill, Director, - C2O futureplanners Peter Archer, Chair, Care and Repair. Angela Maule, past Chief Executive, UK Public Health Association. Rev Paul Nicolson, Chair Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.
Our response to the Government’s consulation on homelessness
The Localism Act 2011 enables local authorities to end the main homelessness duty by arranging an offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector, without requiring the applicant’s agreement. The government’s consultation period ends tomorrow and more details about the consultation can be found here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/homelessnessorderconsult Here is our response, drafted by our Chair, Dr Stephen Battersby. The Pro-Housing Alliance is a loose alliance of organizations and individuals who believe that a coherent housing policy should be based on the fundamental contribution of housing to public health, including mental health. Housing is a key social determinant of health and as such homelessness is a symptom of inadequate housing policies over decades. More recently, the housing market has been further distorted by irresponsible lending, and housing costs and prices adversely affect the economy. The Alliance launched in September 2011 works to encourage others to join it in efforts to bring about a greater recognition of the role of housing in society as a determinant of health and well-being and as a vital element of infrastructure to service the growth of the national and local economies; it will seek to develop the components of a credible and just national housing policy
House price inflation – 60 Inglorious Years
On Saturday 26 May the Money Guardian included an article on house price inflation over the sixty years since the Queen came to the throne (under the title ‘Worth their weight in diamonds’). It pointed out for example that a terraced house in Chelsea that sold for £4,600 in 1952 is now ‘worth’ £3,500,000. Similar examples were given for other types of property such as a three bedroomed detached in Guildford sold in 1952 for £5,544 and now on the market for £768,000. ‘…in London it’s £16 a day profit over the 60-year period.’ These changes cannot be laid at the Queen’s portals. The greater part of the asset inflation has occurred since Mrs Thatcher’s deregulations of the finance sector during the 1980s. This released a flood of mortgage lending that by one estimate produced £800billion more housing debt outstanding over the period 1980-2005 than would have been the case had lending risen with other economic indicators such as general process and earnings. The article was remarkably uncritical. There was not a mention of the widespread unaffordability in both prices and rents that this price inflation has occasioned and of the labour recruitment and retention problems it has