Heroic soldiers injured while serving their country will be able to jump the queue for council houses in Manchester under radical new reforms.
The city council will also be the first in the country to give priority to community champions as well as pushing servicemen and women who are injured on the frontline up the queue.
Town hall officials have drawn up the new housing allocation policy which will come into force at the end of the year.
Tenants will be placed in six bands and the new policy says members of the armed forces who need to move into adapted accommodation due to injury, disability or a condition sustained as a result of service will be awarded preference in line with new government policy which is due to be spread nationwide.
It also says any community workers and volunteers who help make their neighbourhoods a ‘good place to live, work and play’ will be moved up a band, allowing them to be re-housed faster.
Working households and the owners of businesses in the city will also win priority in recognition of the contribution they are making to the local economy.
The policy reads: ‘They are the backbone of their community, and they need to be recognised for the good they do.’
Paul Beardmore, the council's director of housing, said: "It's important that we do everything we can to help residents who are helping themselves, and others in their communities, while still meeting our duties to those in the greatest need.
"This is a modernised approach to housing allocations, which we believe will promote balanced and sustainable neighbourhoods while helping the city reach its full economic potential.
"As usual, Manchester is leading the way with this pioneering scheme, and we believe it will allow the city's residents to get the most out of our housing stock."
The new framework places applicants in the six bands according to their housing need.
Those with exceptional and urgent need to move – for example due to illness, fleeing domestic abuse, or releasing an adapted property – go into band one.
People with ‘reduced priority’ - due to arrears, breach of a tenancy agreement, or refusing three reasonable offers of a home - will be placed bottom of the list, in band six.
Bands two and three will be for residents in need of a new home while four and five will be for those who do not need to be re-housed but want to move.
Mr Beardmore said the city already endeavoured to meet the housing needs of former servicemen and women.
The new policy, approved by council chiefs this month, puts the commitment in writing.
It comes as Manchester is ranked 215 out of 323 councils in England for meeting affordable housing needs.
Homeless charity Shelter published the housing league this week which said an average of 317 new affordable homes have been built in Manchester in each of the past three years, despite a housing waiting list of around 20,000 which will take five years to clear.
The charity estimates that a Manchester resident would have to earn £34,783-a-year to buy an average-price property in the city.
Manchester’s Liberal Democrat housing spokesman, Coun Iain Donaldson, criticised the council’s performance, saying it had an appalling record for providing social housing. He added: "The lamentable failure to meet local social housing needs rests entirely with this failed Labour administration and government."
Mr Beardmore said Shelter had failed to recognise the work being done to underpin the housing sector and assist with the delivery of new homes as the city emerges from the recession.
He added: "Despite the difficult economic conditions of the last few years, Manchester city council has secured significant investment for new housing stock and has made other major improvements. None of this has been reflected in Shelter's league table."
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
canonball, inside the helmet (25/03/2010 at 08:34)
Black Flag (25/03/2010 at 08:51)
In other words, transparent processes will be dispensed with so that cronies who do what the council wants will be given priority.
Every morning I wake up thinking I can't possibly hate politicians any more than I already do and every day, they work tirelessly to prove me wrong.
Laura Norder, Didsbury (25/03/2010 at 08:51)
mort (25/03/2010 at 09:26)
Donnie Tobasco, Rochdale (25/03/2010 at 09:26)
Im all for this. And in reference to Iain Donaldsons comments. Yes labour have failed miserably but god knows how bad things would be if the Lib Dems where at the helm. Pot Kettle Black.
moss side brian (25/03/2010 at 09:40)
Almighty God, Salford - vote Green (25/03/2010 at 09:41)
Every morning I wake up thinking I can't possibly hate politicians any more than I already do and every day, they work tirelessly to prove me wrong. "
Couldn't agree more
Concerned Mancunian, Manchester (25/03/2010 at 09:41)
Andanotherthing, Mcr (25/03/2010 at 09:45)
It's utterly unfair.
John Quambo, salford (25/03/2010 at 10:03)
Theowolfe (25/03/2010 at 10:05)
Laura Norder, Didsbury (25/03/2010 at 10:24)
Im all for this. And in reference to Iain Donaldsons comments. Yes labour have failed miserably but god knows how bad things would be if the Lib Dems where at the helm. Pot Kettle Black." - Donnie Tobasco, Rochdale
Hmmm.. not forgetting it was the Tories - Thatcher et al - who decided to sell off council housing stock that was built primarily for people who would never be able to afford their own homes, are you?
And does 'gerrymandering' ring any bells?
A Manc and blue (25/03/2010 at 10:29)
moss side brian
25/03/2010 at 09:40
I fully support what you are saying but there is a scheme (Long Service Advance of Pay (LSAP))in the milatary for all those who have served over 4 years. He can borrow £8500 interest free towards purchasing a house. The monthly repayment is deducted from his wage. After 6 months away he/she should have saved a few bob. Also a lot of new build property firms also give discount to members of the forces. I got over three grand back on the purchase price of mine when I completed. Came in handy as I managed to furnish my home (granted just the basics) without getting tv, friges, sofa etc on HP
Public School Pimms Lout (25/03/2010 at 10:29)
see sense, Manchester (25/03/2010 at 10:32)
Two points here 1. soldiers dont have much to spend their money on in afghanistan and 2. whilst that should mean great savings opportunities for their deposit I earn twice that pay my rent and still can't get a good enough deposit for mortgage.
Ignoramus, Manchester (25/03/2010 at 10:34)
Some 87.8 per cent were UK-born and 10 per cent foreigners who had been living in Britain for more than five years.
Stevedore, Quayside (25/03/2010 at 10:35)
I'd rather have soldiers jumping the queues than illegal immigrants!
Exactly John, our service personnel have contributed more to this country than have illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, a lot of the unpatriotic fools who regularly comment here will see it differently.
Dougal D. Doggy, Deland,Downunder. (25/03/2010 at 10:45)
Chris0706 (25/03/2010 at 10:45)
Gary Salamander (25/03/2010 at 10:47)
I'm less convinced about the 'community champions' thing though. Some of them do great work, but it could easily become a route to reward Labour cronies.
lebist, blackley (25/03/2010 at 11:03)
TREVOR THOMAS (25/03/2010 at 11:22)
Iain Donaldson (25/03/2010 at 11:22)
Iain Donaldson (25/03/2010 at 11:28)
"What an excellent initiative. Im all for this. And in reference to Iain Donaldsons comments. Yes labour have failed miserably but god knows how bad things would be if the Lib Dems where at the helm. Pot Kettle Black." - Donnie Tobasco, Rochdale
I would point out that the initiative to ensure that ex-service personnel are given housing priority in Manchester is one I have been pressing for inclusion in the new housing allocations policy for some time, and I have the supporting correspondence to prove it. This initiative is exellent.
On the question that Black Flag raises, he is right to point out that the policy that "The city council will also be the first in the country to give priority to community champions" generates potential raises potential ambiguities. I asked for clarification on these and a number of other issues at the Executive Meeting and was assured by Labour's executive member that I would receive a response.
Once again I am still waiting.
Black Flag (25/03/2010 at 11:43)
It would be nice if it were that simple, but unfortunately it isn't. Around 1 in every 11 prisoners is ex-forces, with violent crimes being the most common reason.
The simplisitic soundbites would have you believe that the armed forces churn out people who are automatically fine upstanding members of the community, but a combination of mental health issues as a result of combat and adjusting to a less regimented lifestyle can clearly make civilian life hard to adjust to for some and it's unreasonable to assume that we can just drop ex-forces personel back onto the street and expect them to cope.