Unemployed council and housing association tenants should seek work or face losing their homes, housing minister Caroline Flint has suggested.
She said new applicants for social housing might sign "commitment contracts" pledging to seek employment. In a speech, Ms Flint said: "Social housing should be based around the principle of something for something."
Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said the idea was "meaningless" as it could not be legally enforced.
In her first speech as housing minister Ms Flint told the Fabian Society that she wanted to "begin a debate" about how to best serve the needs of people who live in social housing. She said: "Social housing will always have a strong role in supporting the most vulnerable - the elderly, those with disabilities. But there are also many who are currently unemployed who could find work with the right training and support."
Ms Flint said that a family applying for a home could be offered "new opportunities linked to employment and training." She suggested that a "voluntary contract" would set out the opportunities on offer, "underscoring the commitment of the tenants to self-improvement."
Unemployed council and housing association tenants surly shouldn’t be forced on to the streets should they? It’s bad enough that MPs get a second homes allowance but this proposal is nothing but hypocritical.
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