Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Local Government Minister, will on Thursday call on the Conservative-led Government to support Labour proposals to shine a light on how much local councils pay their lowest paid staff and external contractors, as well as their highest paid executives. He said: 

“As councils are ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Local Government Minister, has today called on the Government to give local people a greater say over what happens on their local high street.

Labour has tabled a new clause to the planning section of the Localism Bill, which will be debated in the ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the latest government announcement on the Help to Buy scheme, said:

"Any help for first time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder is to be welcomed. But there is now widespread criticism that this scheme will do little ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Government’s announcements on housing, said:

“After all the hype, the Government has announced no new investment in affordable home building for this year or next year, and the £3.3bn announced for the three years from 2015/16 ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on Shelter’s new report on letting agents, said:
 
"This shocking research shows why Labour was right to call for action to tackle unscrupulous lettings agents who rip-off tenants by charging them fees they didn’t know they would face, forcing ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the release of Government figures which show a 29 per cent drop in the number of affordable homes built in the last financial year, including a 58 per cent fall in social rented homes, said:

“David Cameron has no answer ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to hotel chains being paid thousands of pounds a year to accommodate the homeless, said:

“People will be shocked that families that find themselves homeless are increasingly being housed for long periods in budget hotels, crowded into one room. It harms ...

Labour’s Policy Review explores new ideas on the private rented sector to drive standards up and bad landlords out.

With new figures released today showing that up to half a million families and 100,000 pensioners live in homes with poor conditions in the private rented sector, Labour publishes ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the release of Government figures which show a 3 per cent drop in house building starts over the past 12 months and an 8 per cent drop in home completions (under this Government we have the lowest peacetime completion figures ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to Shelter’s “Growing up renting” report on families in the private rented sector that finds that the volatile rental market is damaging childhoods, said:

“Living a life of insecurity harms family life and blights the childhood of young people uprooted ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on the Government’s plans to back Labour’s proposals to force letting agents to join a scheme to deal with complaints (mandatory redress), said:

"The Government has been forced by Labour into an eleventh hour U-turn to back action for ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the National Audit Office report saying Government assumptions were “unreliable”, “unrealistic” and “contained a substantial arithmetical error” on the New Homes Bonus, said:

“This damning report exposes the failure of one of the Government’s flagship policies to boost house ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to comments by the OBR’s Steve Nickell  before the Treasury Select Committee, said:

“The OBR have said that the Government’s Help to Buy scheme will push up house prices but have limited impact in increasing badly-needed house building.

“Labour ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, said on official statistics today that show the Government’s NewBuy scheme has only delivered 1,500 of the 100,000 mortgages promised by David Cameron:

"David Cameron hyped up NewBuy, raising the hopes of young people and families all around the ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the release of Government figures which show an 11 per cent drop in house building starts over the past 12 months, said:
 
“David Cameron’s failed housing policies are making the biggest housing crisis in a generation worse, not better ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to today’s rough sleeping figures, said:

“These concerning figures show that on David Cameron’s watch more people are sleeping rough on our streets. In the past year, there has been a six per cent increase in rough sleeping and ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to Shelter’s report mapping repossession and eviction rates across England, said:
 
“People up and down the country who are threatened with losing their homes are paying the price for George Osborne’s economic failure.  
 
“The Government’s failed economic policies ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, commenting ahead of Nick Clegg’s speech to the National House-Building Council tomorrow, said:

"A year on from the launch of his and David Cameron’s ‘radical’ housing strategy, Nick Clegg is promising more tinkering dressed up as ‘radical action’. On house ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the mid-term Housing Report from the National Housing Federation, Shelter and The Chartered Institute of Housing which says the Government, at its halfway point, is failing to deliver on 8 out of 10 key housing indicators, said:

“This sobering mid-term ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on today’s affordable housing supply figures showing an across the board decrease compared with last year, said:

“Today’s bad news on affordable housing will be of no comfort to those who want a decent home to rent or buy ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to Home Truths 2012, a report by the National Housing Federation, said:

“The Government’s housing and economic policies are failing. Millions of families are struggling with housing costs as wages are squeezed and rents go through the roof.

“But the ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on affordable housing, said:

"This damning report highlights the failure of this out of touch Government to get a grip on the biggest housing crisis in a generation. In Cameron's Britain, millions are left ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on official statistics released today on the Government’s NewBuy scheme:

"This shows the vast gap between the Government’s rhetoric and the reality for those who want to realise their dreams of owning their own home. The Prime Minister and ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to Shelter’s report on private renting, said:

“Shelter's welcome report highlights the problems the growing number of people living in the private rented sector face every day from ever-rising rents to fear of eviction and poor standards. 

“Tenants, including ...

Responding to the report that the number of homeless families living in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation has risen by almost half in the first few months of 2012, Jack Dromey, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister said:

“Because the Tory-led Government cut too far, too fast, Britain is gripped by ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to new research by Shelter which shows one in four Britons are ripped off by letting agents, said:

“These shocking new findings show why Labour is calling for action to tackle unscrupulous lettings agents who rip-off tenants by charging them fees ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Policy Exchange report on social housing, said:

“The Tory-led Government promised to “get Britain building” but their failed housing policies and a double-dip recession made in Downing Street are making the housing crisis worse not better.
 
“With house building ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on statistics today that show a collapse in house building, said:

“These disappointing figures illustrate the disastrous consequences of the Government’s failing economic and housing policies, which have ensured a collapse in house building and a sharp contraction in the ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to figures showing rise in people in need of homelessness prevention and relief, said:

"Action taken by Local Authorities to prevent homelessness and provide relief to those in need is welcome.

"But today’s figures show there has been a rapid ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, in response to Wednesday’s report from the National Audit Office on the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme, said:

“This independent report from the National Audit Office confirms that despite Grant Shapps relentless spin, over 70,000 of the 170,000 affordable ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, in response to Thursday’s IPPR report ‘Together at Home – a new strategy for housing’, said:

“Britain is in the midst of the biggest housing crisis in a generation. Millions are locked out of home ownership, languishing on housing waiting lists or ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to official statutory homelessness figures released today, said:

“As Britain’s housing crisis deepens, more and more families are facing the tragedy of homelessness. Labour turned round the rising tide of homelessness we saw in the 80s, but we are now ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Cambridge University study on housing trends commissioned by the Resolution Foundation and Shelter, said;
 
“This report highlights the growing housing crisis which the Tory-led Government is failing to tackle. In fact, their policies are making things worse not better ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to Grant Shapps' comments on homelessness this morning, said:
 
“Grant Shapps’ statistics this morning were highly misleading. He talks about wanting to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping. He’s even told us it’s what brought him into politics. But in ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the second Housing Report from the National Housing Federation, Shelter and The Chartered Institute of Housing which says the Government is failing to deliver or making no progress on 8 out of 10 key housing indicators, said:

"The report paints ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, commenting on figures showing the number of housing starts has fallen 15 per cent compared with the same quarter last year, said:
 
“These figures are further evidence of the failure by this out of touch Government to get a grip on the ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to reports on the Today programme of tenants being forced out of their homes as rogue landlords seek to profit from the Olympics, said:
 
“Rents are rising and tenants face growing abuse from rogue landlords profiteering from the housing crisis and ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee cross-party report on a major increase in investment in house building, said:

"This timely cross-party report underlines the growing housing crisis in Britain. One that the Tory-led Government’s policies are making worse ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, in a speech to Crisis today, said:

Homelessness and rough sleeping in 21st century Britain, the 7th richest nation on earth, is a disgrace and a scar on our society.

The hallmark of any civilised society is not people sleeping and living ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, will today challenge the Housing Minister over the Government’s housing record after new figures released by Labour show that housebuilding under the Tory-led Government is 26 per cent down on the average achieved under the last Labour Government.
 
Jack Dromey MP ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, and Tessa Jowell MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for London, have written to all London councils following the revelations that some councils have been forced, as a result of the Government’s housing policies, to place homeless families outside of London, some ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the letter from Newham council asking a housing association in Stoke-on-Trent to accommodate up to 500 families on housing benefit, said:

"Britain is facing a growing housing crisis.

"Soaring rents and collapsing affordable house building are making families homeless and ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, said in response to Grant Shapps' article in Politics Home on HomeSwap:

"Even for Grant Shapps this is an absurd level of hyperbole about a scheme that will do little in a time where there aren't enough homes or jobs. And ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Government’s announcement of a mortgage indemnity scheme, said:

“Under Labour, we helped one million to get a mortgage. Under the Tory-led Government, we have a mortgage market where people can't get mortgages. The average age of unassisted ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to reports that social housing tenants could be offered discounts of up to £75,000 when buying their home, said:

“Labour supports those who want to buy their own home. But there are nearly two million families on Council waiting lists ...

New figures on homelessness, published today by the Department for Communities and Local Government, show that there has been a 14 per cent rise in households accepted as homeless in 2011 compared with 2010 and a 18 per cent rise on the same quarter last year, the fourth rise in ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, in response to Grant Shapps' re-announcement on the Tenant Cashback scheme, said:

"Grant Shapps is stuck like a broken record constantly re-announcing the same policies. And not only is this a re-announcement, it is over-hyped.

"Grant Shapps talks of £4 billion spent ...

New figures published today by the Department for Communities and Local Government show a shocking increase in rough sleeping across England in 2011 by 23% from 1,768 to 2,181. There were particularly large increases in the East Midlands (55%), the North West (49%) and the South East (39 ...

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, today called on the Prime Minister to correct his statement to the House in January where he claimed that rents were falling in the private rented sector.
 
This follows two unanswered letters to the Prime Minister in which he set out the ...