Why we are asking for a re-think on housing funding
By Councillor Susan Gambles, cabinet portfolio holder for housing and welfare
The following speech was made to the meeting of Full Council on Wednesday, 22 July, by Councillor Gambles. The motion – which was approved following a vote – is included below.
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Those of you who have heard me speak in this chamber before know how passionate and determined I am, as are our council teams, to ensure that every tenant has a safe, warm and decent home.
Over recent years, Parliament has rightly introduced significant reforms: the Social Housing Act, Awaab's Law, the Renters' Rights Act, the Fire Safety Act, electrical safety standards and Decent Homes Standards, all of which have come before this chamber for information and, in some cases, approval.
All this legislation exists for one reason, and one reason only: to protect people and to protect tenants.
As you know, this council has never hesitated to take on new and improved responsibilities, especially when they are designed to deliver higher standards.
The Labour Government, led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, rightly believes these reforms are a national priority. I agree, and I hope you do too.
While I welcome these improvements in standards and willingly take on the additional responsibilities, they must be properly resourced, both financially and from a workforce perspective.
As many of you in this chamber know, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) pays for everything related to council housing.
This account is already under significant pressure due to the rising cost of materials and supplies, alongside the costs of repairs, ongoing maintenance, replacing kitchens, bathrooms and windows, and bringing void properties back up to Decent Homes Standards.
Some HRA funding has had to be diverted to meet statutory duties, leaving less available for long-term investment in our homes and communities and causing delays to some day-to-day activities.
This borough has never shied away from doing its part. However, we have more than 21,000 homes to maintain and keep safe and warm, and around 12,000 applicants on the housing waiting list.
More council housing is desperately needed. To be clear, we are ready to build. We are already building and have been doing so for some time. We need to continue working with this Labour Government to deliver even more homes.
Since 2019, this council has built 707 council homes. Alongside our partners, who provide us with 100 per cent nomination rights, including registered providers and housing associations, we have delivered a total of 3,151 social homes across our borough during that period.
We are also currently on site at four developments, with a further 123 council homes being built and around 200 more in the pipeline.
Our budgets and priorities are planned years in advance. Projected income and responsibilities are carefully assessed and determined.
New legislation, new rules and new expectations from Government, whoever is in Downing Street, have an impact on those planned budgets and priorities.
We need stability, certainty and a commitment from Government to ensure these reforms are properly resourced so that support can be delivered effectively.
That is why I am asking the council to endorse a letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the financial and workforce implications of these changes, and to agree a solution to address these new burdens. This should include a discussion on how to expunge the long-term loan, which would return £3.4m to the HRA each year.
And, of course, we must also discuss additional funding to build more council homes in our borough. We have a proven track record, we are ready to build, and we have sites available.
I sincerely hope this motion can secure unanimous support. It affects every Wigan Council tenant and, as I have said many times and will continue to say, tenants are at the heart of everything we do, especially in our role as the corporate landlord.
This is our collective responsibility.
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The motion reads: The Council has always supported higher standards for council homes and improvements to legislation that strengthens housing quality and regulatory standards. With new legislation and standards comes additional financial pressures on the Housing Revenue Account which is already under significant strain.
Government need to provide resources to match the new legislation and standards. It is requested that this Council writes to the Minister of Housing and Planning to request that adequate additional funding is provided to meet the full cost of implementing new standards so that the Council can continue the planned delivery of safe, well-maintained homes without compromising long term investment or placing unrealistic additional financial burdens on the HRA.
Posted on Wednesday 5th August 2026