Council Knew of “Revised Targets” for Social Housing as Government Remained Silent

TAMESIDE, UK – Tameside Council’s leadership has been working on “revised targets for the supply of new social rent houses,” according to official documents. However, this information was kept behind closed doors and was not even disclosed by the government’s own press office when responding to a direct enquiry from the Tameside Independent on this exact subject.

The admission of new housing plans, made by Deputy Leader for Housing, Councillor Andrew McLaren, was contained in a portfolio update for a full council meeting held on 15th July 2025.

Crucially, this meeting took place after the Tameside Independent had already published its “Open Letter” investigation into the local housing crisis. The government press office, responding to our public pressure on behalf of local MP and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, sent their official statement to us after the 15th of July.

Despite this, their statement made no mention of any “revised targets” or plans to “accelerate delivery.” Instead, it used a misleadingly low waiting list figure of just 1,005 households (the council’s own figures), which we have already proven to be false based on data from their partner provider, Jigsaw, who confirm the figure is over 7,000 across the borough.

The question is simple: if Tameside Council had a good news story about “revised targets,” why was this information not provided by the Secretary of State for Housing’s own press office when they responded to our investigation into the housing crisis in her own constituency?

The council cannot hide behind the excuse that the enquiry was sent to the government and not them. The Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, is the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. It is the responsibility of her department to be aware of the facts on the ground.

This failure of transparency raises urgent questions:

• What are these secret “revised targets,” and why have they not been made public?
• Was this information deliberately withheld from the public?
• Is this a genuine new plan, or just empty words in a council report designed to manage a political crisis?

To get the answers, the Tameside Independent will now submit a new, legally-binding Freedom of Information request, demanding that the council releases these “revised targets” and the full details of its plan to “accelerate delivery.”

The 7,000 households on the waiting list deserve to see the facts, not just the carefully managed PR. The investigation continues.