Member Article

New Housing Minister welcomed by Leeds housing association CEO

Ali Akbor, chief executive of Leeds-based housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise, has welcomed the appointment of Kit Malthouse as the new Minister of State for Housing.

Mr Malthouse, formerly Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, was appointed to replace Dominic Raab who has become Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Mr Akbor said: “Mr Malthouse is the eighth Housing Minister to be appointed since 2010, with both of his immediate predecessors only staying in the post for a matter of months.

“The housing association sector now desperately needs a period of stability if we are to properly assist the Government in tackling the national housing crisis.

“In his six months in the job, Dominic Raab seemed somewhat detached and arguably disinterested in working closely with us to deliver the affordable homes that so many people need.

“That was in contrast with the more constructive and positive approach adopted by the recently appointed Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire, who I was pleased to meet last month.

“I hope that Kit Malthouse will now follow Mr Brokenshire’s lead and indicate his willingness to be bold and commit himself to confronting the many housing challenges that we face as a nation.

“I have written to welcome him to his new role and issue an invitation to visit Yorkshire to see the exciting work that Unity Homes and Enterprise is doing to build new high quality affordable homes and regenerate local communities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Barry White .