Former Conservative Party chair David Davis has been appointed as deputy prime minister John Prescott's shadow.
Davis will work on housing, planning and regeneration issues with Tory housing spokesman Eric Pickles. Theresa May, who was shadow DTLR minister until the resignation of Stephen Byers, takes over as party chair.
New trust to help homeless
Financial services group Zurich's community trust and charity Help the Aged have joined forces to fund a new support service. The East London Meaningful Occupation Project will work with older people in east London.
The trust will provide £70,000 and the charity £30,000 over three years to fund a project coordinator. The coordinator will locate and offer help to older homeless or socially isolated people in the Tower Hamlets, Hackney and City areas of the capital.
Cohesion group starts work
The specialist housing practitioner group set up to advise the Home Office on community cohesion in the wake of last summer's race riots has held its first meeting.
At the Housing Corporation's race and housing conference in London this week, community cohesion minister Beverly Hughes said she wanted the group to provide "concrete proposals and workable policies".
Call for housing Cabinet post
Peterborough MP Helen Clark has called for the government to show its commitment to housing by making the portfolio a Cabinet post.
The Labour MP was speaking at the opening of Minster General Housing Association's development of four four-bedroom homes in the Werrington district of Peterborough.
Clark pledged to keep up pressure on the government over housing by using procedures such as early day motions and parliamentary questions.
MHT wins £254m scheme
Metropolitan Housing Trust is part of a consortium that has won a £245m regeneration contract from Barnet council in north London.
The scheme will see 2000 homes built over 10 years, 132 of which will be affordable. MHT will retain 548 for market rent.
Housebuilder Lovell and developer Bellhouse Joseph are MHT's partners on the unsubsidised scheme.
Source
Housing Today
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