Public sector housing set for rent hike

Minister for Social Care Chris Robertshaw made the announcement at a press conference on Friday.

He said the decision was taken to reduce his department’s £7million deficit brought about by the shortfall of rental income against housing costs.

The minister confirmed this deficit is growing by £1m annually and this decision would ease this by £500,000.

However, Mr Robertshaw insisted this was not a knee-jerk reaction and a consultation addressing other ways of improving public sector housing will start soon (see audio).