Alok Sharma
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Housing Market
Former NAEA leader says housing White Paper is “toothless” and answer is to reform CGT and Stamp Duty
A leading industry commentator and past president of the NAEA has written to the new housing minister Alok Sharma (pictured, below) outlining his concern about the state of the property market and the government’s stalled attempts to tackle it. Within the letter Simon Gerrard (pictured, right), who runs north London agency Martyn Gerrard, accuses Theresa May’s government of not taking housing seriously. He also says the recent “toothless” White Paper is another example of the many speeches and papers in recent years that have come to nothing. “Whilst [the White Paper] made the right noises, a lack of active and transformative policy means we cannot fight the growing challenges facing our housing market,” the letter says. Simon’s missive comes just days after the Housing minister made his first major industry speech at the Resi 2017 conference at the Celtic Manor hotel in Wales, at which he promised to turn the White Paper “into action”. But Simon says that despite the Minister’s promises, he fears the government demonstrates a chronic lack of understanding of the market, and how to effectively fix it and that like many of his predecessors, Alok is good at producing sound bites, but not tangible actions. “I…
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Holding deposits to be excluded from letting fees ban, confirms Minister
Announcement comes during wide-ranging debate in Commons this morning led by former Hunters boss Kevin Hollinrake MP.
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We need a long-term vision and a housing tsar, says Belvoir
Estate agent franchise group Belvoir has published an open letter to the Prime Minister Theresa May calling for both the appointment of a housing tsar and an ombudsman for tenants. Released today, its Chief Operating Officer Dorian Gonsalves (pictured, right) says the UK needs a cross-party housing tsar to work with industry experts, social housing providers and all housing stake holders to help “create a stable property market with a long-term vision”. Dorian describes new Housing Minister Alok Sharma (pictured, left), MP for Reading West, as “Britain’s sixth since the Tories came into power in 2010” and that on average they only stay in post for 12 months. “I believe that the appointment of a housing tsar, who could work with industry experts and politicians from all parties, and then make recommendations to the new Housing Minister, would be an effective way of increasing market stability, and would be extremely beneficial for the housing industry,” he says. Leave landlords alone Gonsalves says Belvoir has been calling for the current government to encourage rather the alienate landlords, who he says are best placed to provide the extra rented homes “the UK so badly needs”. “It is no longer acceptable to use…
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Senior industry leader questions experience of new housing minister
The Guild of Property Professionals’ CEO Ian McKenzie, fresh from announcing the landmark deal between his organisation and online agent easyProperty, has voiced his doubts about the new housing minister Alok Sharma (pictured, right). Sharma, who is MP for Reading West, was revealed as the new Housing Minister yesterday afternoon but apart from his tweets saying how honoured he is to get the job, there are few official announcements except for the initial and brief list published on the No.10 website. He has also been plunged in the deep end following the tragic events within Grenfell Tower in London, where so far up to six people are feared to have died following last night’s catastrophic fire. Ian McKenzie (pictured, left) points out that Sharma is the sixth housing minister in seven years and, although he welcomed the appointment after a five-day wait following the initial cabinet re-shuffle, he says he is “concerned by Alok Sharma’s lack of industry experience”. Housing crisis “There’s no doubt that his background in accountancy will help with the role, but the housing market is in crisis,” say Ian. “We need a government representative who will stand up for the industry. I hope that Sharma can…
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New Housing Minister is Alok Sharma, MP Reading West
The new Minister for Housing and Planning is Alok Sharma, MP, Reading West. Mr Sharma retained his seat with a majority of 2876 in last week’s election. First elected in 2010 for Reading West, with one of the largest swings to the Conservatives in the country, Alok has served as a member of the Commons Treasury select committee, a member of the Commons Science and Technology select committee, a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Treasury and from 2012-15 as a Conservative Party Vice Chairman. Alok was appointed in 2016 as the Prime Minister’s Infrastructure Envoy India. He also serves as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who has overall responsibility for the Cabinet Office. Alok is also Co-Chairman of Conservative Friends of India. Prior to entering Parliament, Alok qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte, and then worked for 16 years within investment banking, first with the Japanese firm Nikko Securities and then SE Banken, where he held senior roles based out of London, Stockholm and Frankfurt, including serving as a member of the bank’s Corporate Finance Global Management Committee.
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