Morning:
3°c
Tories to block seizure of homes while offices in Whitehall are empty
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor11 Feb 2010
Labour was today accused of "rank hypocrisy" over new laws to seize private property as it emerged that scores of government-owned homes and acres of Whitehall office space are lying vacant.
New research showed that ministerial grace-and-favour flats - including palatial apartments for the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary - are unoccupied.
The Highways Agency also has 103 homes empty for more than six months, with six habitable houses vacant for more than 12 years.
New Parliamentary answers re- vealed that Whitehall has a further 260,000 sq ft of empty office space - equivalent to 62 acres of vacant rooms - largely because civil servants have moved out of London.
The Conservatives said the state's failure to use its own properties was in sharp contrast to "draconian" new legal orders.
Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps today announced that a Tory government will abolish the Empty Dwelling Management Orders, which give town halls the power to seize private homes that lie empty for as little as six months.
At EDMO hearings councils have tried to seize the home of a blind man, grab an old man's house as soon as he died in a nursing home, and confiscate the home of a mother caring for her injured daughter in France.
However, EDMOs cannot be used against government property.
Mr Shapps said: "It is a scandal that homes owned by the Government lie empty for years, while bully-boy laws let state bureaucrats seize the homes of the dead and vulnerable.
"It's the height of Labour hypocrisy. Conservatives will scrap these draconian powers. Instead we will focus on renting or selling off the inefficient acres of government real estate. This will save taxpayers' money and put more homes on the market." Empty government properties include:
The Foreign Secretary's Grade I-listed flat in Carlton Gardens, vacant since 2007 as David Miliband prefers to live at home in Primrose Hill.
David Blunkett's former grace-and- favour flat, empty since April 2007 and recently occupied by squatters.
Three Admiralty House flats - for Lord Malloch Brown, Lord Falconer and Geoff Hoon - costing £173,000 a year each to run. Ministers refuse to rent them out to civil servants.
Mr Shapps said the Tories would open up Whitehall databases of surplus land and buildings to public inspection and transfer all central government property into publicly owned asset companies.
Reader views (7)
They will not stop until they inact powers to take everyones pay. hen return what they see is your allowance.
- Bill Inch, Manchester, 12/02/2010 01:39
Report abuse
Surely if the Highways Agency has 103 homes empty for six months, that's good? I presume they have bought up a lot more than 103 to demolish for road schemes.
What does Grant Schnapps propose to do about empty houses which are a menace to the neighbours? The Council here threatens Compulsory Purchase, which usually wakes up the dozier landlords enough to bring them into use. That is not enough for houses owned by dead people with no known heirs or companies bankrupt but not properly liquidated.
- Alan Griffiths, Forest Gate, LONDON, 11/02/2010 20:03
Report abuse
At the former military airfield RAF Newton in Nottinghamshire there are over 25 large houses that have remained empty since the establishment was closed in November 2000. The Ministry of Defence have allowed the perfectly good properties to decay and now most of the houses are derelict. An absolute outrage which I an sure is happening again and again across the country.
- Simon Ellis, London, 11/02/2010 17:00
Report abuse
Animal Farm - some are more equal than others and Big Brother (the Government) knows best
Yes I know I am mixing my books, but I think you get the point.
- Very Angry At Mp'S Expenses, Home Counties, 11/02/2010 16:05
Report abuse
".. the power to seize private homes that lie empty for as little as six months."
The Socialists will not be happy until they control absolutely every single aspect of your lives.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 11/02/2010 15:21
Report abuse
The Government failed to regulate and keep checks and balances on the banks - the banks and mortgage companies failed to check up on and enforce mortgage lending ceilings to their customers. Bad advice and lending up to 9 times on a salary was greed beyond belief. The whole financial world drove the engine of borrowing and over-spend in Britain. If the banks can get bailed out for their irresponsibility, it would be irresponsible and a neglect of duty if the man in the street's family up and down the land loses the roof over their heads.
- Anna, London, 11/02/2010 13:06
Report abuse
Great news the EDMO scheme is a way of legally stealing someone else's property.
- P Staker, London, 11/02/2010 13:01
Report abuse
