NINO STAFFA the « social burden » of public housing. His death, therefore, came at a very convenient time for the Tory opposition, the BSA, RICS, ISV/\., Master Builders Federation, the top ranks of the Civil Service, and so on. As a committed Social-Democrat Crosland was indeed concerned about the inefficiencies of the housing system and was keen to remedy the defects to ensure an efficiently managed social system free of the embrassing inequities and comparatively extreme poverty of the minority of people who are part of the « inner city problem». His successor, Peter Shore, after some persuasion took up the work left undone by Crosland and has recently produced a Green Paper. The Green Paper instantly won the wholehearted support of the BSA and the Tory spokesman on housing Michael Heseltine. The Lobour Party in recent years have been moving more and more towards a policy of encouraging more owner occupation but had defended the public housing system against Tory attacks as a legitimate form of tenure. The Tories on the other hand want to reduce public housing to the level of charitable housing for the very poorest members of society. The Green Paper's reccomandations ignore most of Croslands questions and worries and promote greater owneroccupation (along with increased tax relief), reduction of the role of « public housing » to a residual one and the maintenance of the inequities which exist in housing. The extension of « tax relief » of course mostly benefits the wealthier owner occupiers. No special help is being made available for first time buyers except for £ 45 million which is being made available from the public sector expenditure budget. Even Peter Walker (ex-Secretary of State for the Environment in the 70-74 Tory government, and other half of the notorious SlaterWalker organisation) has expressed concern about the treatment being proposed for the public sector in the Green Paper. Most importantly, the Green Paper introduces a new technical management weapon which will enable central government to control local authority activities speedily and without the intervention of the democratic decision-making facade. Local authorities will be « free » to devise their own Housing Investment Programmes (HIP's) for which central government will then award block grants to help finance the expenditure necessary. « Under the new system subsidy levels and their distribution can be swiftly altered from year to year without the need for 42
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