The National Housing Federation has responded to a raft of proposals by Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps, at the Conservative party conference in Manchester.

Commenting on the proposal to enable tenants to demand that their housing association sell their current property and use the proceeds, minus transaction costs, to buy another property of their choice, Federation Chief Executive David Orr said: "Mobility is a critical issue for many people living in social housing, but this is the wrong way to achieve it.

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"A far more effective way to achieve mobility would be to overhaul the allocations system for social housing, so that tenants needing to move for employment purposes will find it easier to get a home in the area they want to move to.

"The Conservatives' proposals on the 'right to move' are unworkable. It would mean that housing associations could end up with properties dotted all over the country, with their maintenance staff having to spend entire days travelling across the country, and emitting huge amounts of carbon, just to get to one property."

Mr Orr said: "The Conservatives’ commitment to building more affordable homes to meet local needs is very welcome. Whatever process or system we use to achieve this aspiration is, in many ways, irrelevant – because the bottom line will always come down to how many families we’ve housed and helped off the waiting list."

(CD/KMcA)