Lunchtime news 15 May

Yvette Cooper’s speech at the Fabian Society named climate change and political opposition to new building as the government’s two main housing challenges.

Shelter Cymru’s 2007 Annual Conference, ‘People and Homes’ will take place between June 28th and 29th

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is seeking a judicial review in a last-ditch legal attempt to block the introduction of home information packs.

For anyone still unsure what all the fuss is about, the Independent has produced a bluffers guide to HIPs.

Gordon Brown comes in for stick from Simon Jenkins, who writes in the Guardian that the push for new homes is more about pleasing developers than the people who need the homes.

Residents of the Ocean estate in Stepney, where only about 40% of men are in paid employment, are being given first refusal of all non-medical jobs at Tower Hamlets primary care trust as part of a new scheme to boost employment in the area.

How can we ensure that future social housing is of top quality? The Housing Corporation publishes the report of an independent commission outlining how this might be achieved.

It now costs an average of £16,000 to move home according to a survey conducted by the Abbey. Last year Britons spent £28billion on moving.

A Mirror investigation has revealed how the top 10 mortgage lenders have taken advantage of interest rate changes in the past six years to boost their annual profits by £660million.