CREATION OF A SOCIAL INVESTMENT BANK PROPOSED

The Commission on Unused Assets, set up in 2005, has proposed that a Social Investment Bank should be set up to encourage the third sector to grow and thrive by enabling a broader range of finance and greater access to appropriate private sector funds. Unused assets are monies in financial institutions that have been untouched by their owners for a considerable period of time. Countries including the US, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Spain have legal frameworks in place for putting these assets to productive use.

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CALL TO SHAKE UP SOCIAL HOUSING

The social rental sector is failing to meet the challenge of the 21st century. It produces too many inadequate outcomes for the nation’s poorer households. The sector needs to recreate itself as more contestable, creative and diverse. This is the main thrust of a report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, ‘Better Future for Social Housing’.

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By Steve Wilcox Almost three out of every five younger working households in London, the South East and the South West of England cannot afford to buy a house at current prices. The author produces a disturbing picture of worsening affordability and shows how the problem can be more acute in rural areas where potential houseowners do not have the option of moving to cheaper areas.