The claim that immigrants jump the queue for council houses will be exposed as a myth next week by an exhaustive national survey.Hmm, an 'exhaustive national survey', eh...
It will undermine Gordon Brown's promise to let local authorities give "more priority" to people with local links in the allocation of empty properties. His move was widely seen yesterday as a response to the suspicion – successfully exploited in last month's local and European elections by the British National Party – that white families were losing out to new arrivals in obtaining council or housing association homes.
The Independent has learned that a two-year investigation has failed to uncover "queue jumping" by immigrants and will describe the belief in its existence as a popular prejudice.Well, well, well...
And who is responsible for this investigation?
Ah:
The inquiry – based on analysis of authority housing allocation and interviews with housing association managers – was set up two years ago by Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Local Government Association.Now, I just bet all those lefties who wet themselves over the police investigating their own, or doctors reporting on their peers, will be all over this!
Any....minute.....now......
*crickets*
It depends what they mean by queue jumping I suppose, I mean I doubt that immigrants get bonus points for being immigrants, but if I were on a waiting list I'd be annoyed if immigrants got placed ahead of meeven if they met the criteria- (income, family size and whatever else)- for council housing better than I did.
ReplyDeleteIt's to do with "immediate housing need" trumping "time on waiting list". A New Labour improvement which sounds jolly fair in principle.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately access to social housing, like other state benefits or subventions, is ultimately based on belonging to a community - on paying in to a shared "social insurance" pot in case you need it yourself in the future. Such schemes allow for a certain leniency and charity to new arrivals, but goodwill fails when presented with a steady stream of homeless Somali families with 10 kids each turning up out of nowhere.
There are also outright fiddles. I recall Frank Field waxing indignant about the (reputed) Bangladeshi practice in the East End of London of sponsoring a immigrant relative to move to the UK and live with the family in existing accommodation. After a decent interval, the newcomer is then kicked out into the street and, homeless, falls upon the neck of the council who under current rules must provide.
Oh there's a real enough, if slippery, problem alright.
'I recall Frank Field waxing indignant about the (reputed) Bangladeshi practice in the East End of London of sponsoring a immigrant relative to move to the UK and live with the family in existing accommodation. After a decent interval, the newcomer is then kicked out into the street and, homeless, falls upon the neck of the council who under current rules must provide.'
ReplyDeleteBangladeshi's are probably the leading exponents of this scam, but several other nationalities are equally well versed in the arcana of the immigration rules- look at how Ireland has found itself with over 15,000 Nigerian residents as a result of its retention of birthright citzenship until a few years ago.
'Dependent relatives' in the UK can include widowed parents with no 'means of support' in their own countries. They can be granted indefinite leave to remain if their sponsors agree to support them for a limited period, either 1 or 2 years.I think you'll find that accommodating such relatives usually and inexplicably becomes 'unbearable' for the sponsors within days of the 'no recourse to public funds' condition ceasing to apply.And, hey presto, the housing authority that rehouses the evictee can record him/her as a 'local resident' as they have lived at their relatives address for the previous 12 months!
I wonder if this scam was mentioned in any of the 'interviews' carried out by the minions working for Trevor Phillips's quango- and whether the 'findings' were made to fit the 'analysis' desired by his political masters ?
There will never be an honest debate about this while the 'usual suspects' jump up and cry 'racist' every time the subject is mentioned.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if any native Englishman has ever pretended to be an asylum seeker in order to jump the queue and get what appears to be a better deal?
I should be able to pass myself off as a deaf mute burkha wearing transexual. ( A manly looking woman who does not speak or show 'her' face.)
Logic proves that they DO jump the list.
ReplyDeletePerson born and bred in Britain want a council house, waiting list 10 to 15 years.
Family arive from paky stan yesterday. Waiting list...
Well do YOU see any Pakys living under Waterloo bridge in a "currys" packing box?
ANY person that arrived "in country" and is given a flat/house, in less than the time a native is on the waiting list PROVES that they jump the queue.
Von Brandenburg-Preußen.
A poster put this on CiF recently:
ReplyDeleteAs ever with these articles there is a complete dearth of evidence to back up what it says. After the last of the genre, by Salma Yaqoob, I wanted to see whether what she said was true of not. So I submitted an FOI request. Below is a list of new tenancies for the year ended 31 March 09 for social housing by Birmingham City Council, broken down by ethnicity. Thanks to Birmingham City Council for their open and prompt response. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share it. Make of it what you will.
Afghani 25
Albanian / Kosovan 8
Any Other Asian Background 27
Any Other Black Background 46
Any Other Ethnic Background 67
Any Other Mixed Background 19
Any Other White Background 110
Arab 2
Asian Kashmiri 24
Bangladeshi 62
Black African 316
Black Caribbean 426
Black Somalian 184
Bosnian 1
Chinese 17
Gypsy / Roma 1
Indian 58
Information Not Yet Obtained 367
Iranian 30
Iraqi 26
Irish 84
Kurdish 55
Mixed Asian and Black 9
Mixed White and Asian 22
Mixed White and Black African 20
Mixed White and Black Caribbean 163
Other Eastern European 4
Other Western European 1
Pakistani 370
Refused 22
Traveller of Irish Heritage 1
Vietnamese 5
White British 2637
Yemeni 6
Total 5215
Doesn't seem to be many applications from Japanese, Polish, Swiss, Canadian etc
Since the need of a bloke with 3 or more wives plus 9 brats is greater than a British couple with 2.4 sprogs then they gewt priority.
ReplyDeleteBritish homes for the British......not if Harridan Harperson gets her Equalities Bill through. That is the end of McBroon's mantra. It will be illegal to discriminate in favour of those born here and who have been paying taxes here. Just shows what a lying bunch of turds Noo Labour is composed of.
"Oh there's a real enough, if slippery, problem alright."
ReplyDeleteYes, but if you don't look too hard, you can avoid finding it.
"I wonder if this scam was mentioned in any of the 'interviews' carried out by the minions working for Trevor Phillips's quango.."
I'm betting 'no'...
"There will never be an honest debate about this while the 'usual suspects' jump up and cry 'racist' every time the subject is mentioned."
That's rapidly losing its potency. I'm happy to say.
"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share it."
Good catch! Very, very interesting...