Tag: Catherine Smart

Cambridge City Council election 2016 – the city’s housing crisis

08:11 Tuesday 3rd May 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Cambridge City Council is under Labour control at the moment. How much do you think local politicians can do about this housing crisis?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: Well I think Cambridge City Council has already done quite a lot, but there’s obviously the national restrictions that we’re facing. So in terms of council housing, not being able to build enough. But what Labour have managed to do in thr two years that they’ve been in is to build a lot more council housing. They’ve bought back some land that had previously been sold and built council housing on it.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: So when you say a lot more council housing, how many properties are we talking about?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: I think it’s around 100, but I’m not sure of the exact figure.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: That’s nothing though is it, in the context of the number of people who want affordable homes.
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: No and I think it’s really unfortunate with the national policies that we’re unable to borrow against the housing stock that we’ve currently got. So it means that you can’t get the finances up to build more housing.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC: And you blame who for that?
SOPHIE BARNETT LABOUR: The national government really.
DOTTY MCLEOD BBC : OK. Let’s go to Roy then standing for the Conservatives. Sophie says it’s your party’s fault.
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Conservative MP rejects forced academisation of schools

“Look at the disputes you’re going to have over redundancy. Look at the disputes you’re going to have over land disposals. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

10:24 Friday 22nd April 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Let’s get reaction now to our big interview from yesterday’s show with the Leader of Peterborough City Council John Holdich. It was quite late in the show. You may have missed it. If you have, you can listen to the whole thing again on-line on the BBC iPlayer. He exclusively revealed that if David Cameron forces schools to become academies, that the Council would consider setting up its own educational trust so it could still run schools in the city, effectively regaining control. Well his comments came after the Government confirmed it would be forcing schools across Cambridgeshire to accept academy status, an idea councillor Holdich says is flawed. Here is he is explaining what he meant on yesterday’s show.

It started with bringing a few schools together. .. But now you’ve got academy trusts with a hundred schools. They’re no more than mini-LEAs. And they don’t focus on your city. .. I will .. see whether we can set up our own Trust, and have our own family of schools.

So why is the Leader of Peterborough City Council so against academies? Why is anybody? Well the whole thing was brought up earlier in the week in the House of Commons by the MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson. Morning Stewart.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: John Holdich, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him quite so forceful, quite so against something. And there saying if we can’t beat them we’re going to join them and regain control of our schools. What’s the problem with academies per se?
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Cambridge property – average earners priced out

07:08 Wednesday 29th April 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: A typical working family hoping to take their first steps onto the property ladder would find no homes that they could afford in Cambridge. That is the bleak assessment from a report by the housing charity Shelter. They compared the asking prices for houses on a popular property website with what they calculated would be the average combined salaries of a couple in their 20s, so just over £30,000. And nationally they found families on that money could afford 17% of homes. In Cambridge 0%. Well Kevin Price is Labour’s Executive councillor for Housing on Cambridge City Council. Morning Kevin.
KEVIN PRICE: Good morning Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And also with me on the line is Catherine Smart, who is the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cambridge City Council. Morning Catherine.
CATHERINE SMART: Good morning.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So Kevin, do you accept this research? Is the situation really as bad as Shelter are saying?
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Spare room subsidy debate at BBC Cambridgeshire

09:22 Friday 7th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: We’re asking this morning is it time to scrap the so-called bedroom tax. Figures from Cambridge City Council reveal that one in five people in the city have fallen behind with their rent. Only 5% of people have actually managed to downsize their accommodation. And it’s not just in Cambridge. Sally Chicken is from the Rainbow Saver Credit Union in Peterborough. They’ve seen similar problems in the north of the county too.
(TAPE)
SALLY CHICKEN: Well what we’ve seen is members coming in trying to make ends meet because they’ve had their housing benefit cut. And then they’re either not able to move into a smaller property, or there just isn’t a smaller property available for them to move into.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Sally also agrees with Rob who we spoke to, Rob Nixon, a few moments ago. She says it’s been a huge problem, the spare room subsidy, for the disabled.
(TAPE)
SALLY CHICKEN: Especially for disabled people. I don’t know if you know, but if a disabled couple are both disabled, they are still only entitled to a one bedroomed property. And we’ve had several members who have been just devastated because they can’t physical share a bedroom because of the disability, still being told they are not entitled to a two bedroomed property.
(LIVE) ..
PAUL STAINTON: So should one of the Coalition’s most controversial policies be scrapped? We’ve invited three councillors from across the county and the political spectrum. In the blue corner, representing the Conservatives, councillor Mark Howell, Cabinet member for Housing on South Cambridgeshire District Council. Morning.
MARK HOWELL: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: In the red corner from the Labour party, Peterborough Parliamentary Candidate and city councillor Lisa Forbes. Lisa, morning.
LISA FORBES: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: And in the yellow corner for the LibDems, Deputy Group Leader of the Cambridge LibDems Catherine Smart. Catherine, morning.
CATHERINE SMART: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Mark I’m going to start with you, because this is essentially a Conservative policy, isn’t it. Is it right, is it fair, is it just, or should it be scrapped?
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Catherine Smart on Tackling Homelessness in Cambridge

08:10 Friday 7th March 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: A new accommodation service for the homeless officially opens today in Cambridge. It’s already got rave reviews from folks who stayed there. The Springs, based on Victoria Road, is an adult training foyer. It’s run by the social housing provider Riverside. Their area manager Kevin Scanlon explains how The Springs differs from a traditional hostel or shelter.
(TAPE)
KEVIN SCANLON: To stay here you have to agree to enter into education training and employment. The idea behind that is certainly we want people to learn new skills, and be able to be employable and contribute to society. It gives them a batter opportunity to move on into their own home. And certainly in Cambridge it’s very difficult to find accommodation. And you’ve got a much better chance of finding a real home if you’re employed. ..

PAUL STAINTON: Let’s speak to Cambridge City councillor with responsibility for housing, Catherine Smart. Catherine, good morning.
CATHERINE SMART: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: This facility plugs a real gap, doesn’t it, for people who don’t need the sort of intensive support of a homeless shelter, but who aren’t yet ready to live on their own. It’s sort of helping them help themselves, isn’t it?
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Catherine Smart On Cambridge City Council Eviction Policy

17:07 Thursday 19th December 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Peterborough has been named as the “hotspot” by the homeless charity Shelter, when it comes to homes being repossessed. A report released by them today says over 1,100 home owners lost their property in the twelve months to September this year. That’s 1 in every 63 homes. Nationally that figure is almost 1 in every 105 households across England at risk of eviction or repossession. The research is based on figures from the Ministry of Justice. Antonia Bance, Head of Campaigns at Shelter, joined me a little earlier.
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Cambridge City Council Building Houses

17:42 Wednesday 11th December 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Cambridge City’s ruling LibDems have proposed a major commitment to ease the city’s housing shortage. It’s a new way of financing an investment of £286 million over 30 years to build up to 2,000 new council homes. Cllr Catherine Smart haas the housing portfolio. She joined me earlier.
(TAPE)
CATHERINE SMART: We think we ought to be building more houses ourselves, that is city homes, the City Council, adding to our stock something up to about 2,000.
CHRIS MANN: That’s a huge enterprise. Over what sort of period of time?
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The Peterborough Plan To License Private Landlords

07:07 Friday 1st November 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Our big question this morning, is enough being done to regulate landlords behind houses of multiple occupancy? It’s a problem in Peterborough, in Wisbech and even in the relatively affluent Cambridge. But only just over 400 houses of multiple occupancy in Cambridgeshire have to be automatically licensed. It’s thought the actual amount of HMOs in the county is in the thousands. .. In Peterborough they’re considering going one step further and making all private landlords in specific problem areas get a licence. And on each individual licence will be a people limit specific to that house. .. Peterborough City Council says in a statement:
“We’re currently consulting on selective licensing to raise standards in the private rented sector, and tackle problems including rogue landlords, overcrowding, anti-social behaviour and poor property conditions for tenants. It’s important to note that whilst there are many good landlords, we recognise that poor management practices by others are having a negative effect on the areas. Selective licensing would enable the Council to direct more resource to the area, to bring about significant improvement to properties in the wider community, and give tenants more information about who they rent from. The licence fees would cover the costs of implementing and administrating the scheme.”
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