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Less than six months since Alok Sharma MP was appointed, Theresa May has seen fit to amalgamate Housing into Sajid Javid’s remit.
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, housing, especially social housing, has been a hot topic. Reading the crowd, Theresa May has decided to up the anti on housing and has appointed the well-known member for Bromsgrove, Sajid Javid as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The re-brand suggests that Mr Javid will now have a focus on housing, over the other two areas of his job title. The move comes days after the Prime Minister announced she was going to personally solve the housing crisis across the nation. By making this move, Theresa May has given the Ministry of Housing a new life; the last time it was seen in Government was over 48 years ago! Reinventing the Housing Ministry is a way of Mrs May reaffirming her commitment to improving the housing situation in the country.
Mr Javid is an experienced politician and has held several positions within Government including: Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. The new Housing Secretary has been openly critical of Theresa May and her policies in the past, including her focus on Brexit at the cost of other, immediate, problems. By bringing in Javid, Theresa May is giving him the opportunity to make a real difference in one of the most important sectors to the people of Britain.
The member for Bromsgrove will be charged with overseeing the £26 billion war chest that was announced by the Treasurer in November. As he is now overseeing both Housing and Local Government, it is hoped that he will be able to o-ordinate and work more closely with house builders and local authorities to ensure that social housing promises are delivered.
Whilst the move is going to bring housing to the forefront, market leaders have commented on the fact that this will not change how difficult it is to attain planning permission to build large developments, or the cost of living for those that later move into those houses.
