Clarke in, Clark out, as another new housing secretary takes up role

At the end of August, his department launched a consultation on introducing a temporary rent cap for social housing for the 2023-24 financial year. The three options proposed were a three, five and seven per cent cap. 

Mr Clark succeeded Michael Gove, who served as housing secretary from September 2021 to July 2022, when he was reportedly fired after telling Boris Johnson that it was time to step down as prime minister.

Mr Gove was in charge when the Social Housing Regulation Bill was published, he oversaw new post-Grenfell building safety laws and announced in January that developers would be forced to pay their share of cladding remedial costs to the tune of £4bn.

The Social Housing Regulation Bill has been making its way through parliament during both Mr Clark and Mr Gove’s time as housing secretary.

Housing associations and bodies have written to Ms Truss, calling for urgent “action” to support residents during the cost-of-living crisis and prevent homelessness.

Recommendations included committing to bring forward additional funding for energy-efficiency measures in homes and preventing energy companies from forcibly switching customers to prepayment meters.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, and Geeta Nanda, chair of the G15 and chief executive of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, were among the more than 20 signatories.

The letter was also signed by Matthew Bailes, chair of the Consortium of Housing Associations in the South East (Case) and chief executive of Paradigm Housing Group, and Carol Matthews, group chief executive of Riverside.

The letter said: “In an effort to prevent evictions, providers, to the best of their ability, will work with tenants who fall into arrears.

“However, there is a limit to what the housing sector can do.

“The pressures are so great that many households now have negative budgets, even after all avenues of support have been exhausted. Many social housing providers are themselves challenged by above inflation cost increases and limits on their income.”