:00:09. > :00:12.The Government has been criticised for a new policy
:00:13. > :00:15.that will see some of those living in council houses charged
:00:16. > :00:19."Pay to Stay" means that from April, households who earn more
:00:20. > :00:22.than ?31,000 a year will have to pay more
:00:23. > :00:27.But the leader of one counchl in Lincolnshire is now callhng
:00:28. > :00:30.on the Government to rethink those plans.
:00:31. > :00:35.There is a waiting list of lore than 1,500 for council houshng
:00:36. > :00:38.in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire.
:00:39. > :00:41.Among those who are in local authority properties,
:00:42. > :00:43.the prospect of higher earndrs being charged more for living
:00:44. > :00:49.The Government scheme, called Pay to Stay, will cole
:00:50. > :00:54.Local councils will have to charge households earning
:00:55. > :01:00.North Kesteven District Council thinks 160 people in its arda
:01:01. > :01:07.Marie has lived in her council house for more than 20 years.
:01:08. > :01:10.She said the idea of richer tenants paying more makes sense.
:01:11. > :01:13.I personally think if that money was going to build
:01:14. > :01:15.more council houses, to provide more homes
:01:16. > :01:19.Mum-of-two Leigh, who thinks her household
:01:20. > :01:22.may have to pay more, disagrees with the idea.
:01:23. > :01:24.Because everybody is living in the same...
:01:25. > :01:27.Whether you're working or not, it's the same property.
:01:28. > :01:29.So it should just have one flat rent rate.
:01:30. > :01:33.Not different for different people, it's not fair.
:01:34. > :01:35.The Pay to Stay scheme has particularly angered the le`der
:01:36. > :01:38.of North Kesteven District Council, who says there are early signs
:01:39. > :01:41.it could have a significant side-effect.
:01:42. > :01:47.And if we are going to push up their rents because they ard earning
:01:48. > :01:51.more money, it makes sense to a lot of people to say,
:01:52. > :01:54.well, we might as well buy our council house.
:01:55. > :02:00.the fewer council houses we have left.
:02:01. > :02:04.She also thinks Pay to Stay will be a drain on stretched council funds,
:02:05. > :02:09.to monitor those eligible to pay more.
:02:10. > :02:17.We reckon it's costing the council, really, roughly 60,000 or so a year.
:02:18. > :02:20.The Government department responsible for housing told us
:02:21. > :02:23.in a statement that Pay to Stay is designed to make sure
:02:24. > :02:27.social housing is there for those who genuinely need it.
:02:28. > :02:30.It said it will be helping out councils with the cost of rtnning
:02:31. > :02:33.the scheme and said the Govdrnment is committed to building new houses
:02:34. > :02:36.to replace those sold off under Right to Buy.
:02:37. > :02:40.But it seems councillors in North Kesteven will take some
:02:41. > :02:42.convincing that charging richer tenants more won't cost the council
:02:43. > :02:50.A man is in a critical condhtion, following a suspected assault
:02:51. > :02:53.It happpened at about 3am this morning
:02:54. > :02:56.near the Barcelona Club on Station Road.
:02:57. > :02:59.The 31-year-old was taken to hospital with head injurhes
:03:00. > :03:06.A Lincolnshire MP is calling on political leaders
:03:07. > :03:09.to come together to break the county's devolution deadlock.
:03:10. > :03:12.Eight authorities have supported proposals
:03:13. > :03:16.for a Greater Lincolnshire deal led by an elected Mayor,
:03:17. > :03:20.which would be worth ?15 million a year in extra funding.
:03:21. > :03:22.But Lincolnshire County Council and South Kesteven
:03:23. > :03:27.Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman says he's hoping that critics
:03:28. > :03:33.I think that ultimately, this is a good deal
:03:34. > :03:35.that was negotiated by all ten leaders,
:03:36. > :03:41.It's disappointing that thex haven't voted for it, but I genuinely hope
:03:42. > :03:44.that we are going to get thhs over the line, because it means hundreds
:03:45. > :03:47.of millions of pounds extra for a county that historically has
:03:48. > :03:53.I think it's a huge opportunity and I really hope that we whll be
:03:54. > :03:58.Now time for a look at the weather forecast, with Abbie Dewhurst.
:03:59. > :04:03.Well, high pressure still in charge of our weather at the moment.
:04:04. > :04:05.If you're heading out for a trick or treat either
:04:06. > :04:08.tonight or tomorrow night, the good news is, it should stay
:04:09. > :04:11.So, staying dry the whole night, really, tonight.
:04:12. > :04:14.We could just see a couple of patches of drizzle affecting
:04:15. > :04:16.northern areas, but other than that, we should get aw`y
:04:17. > :04:20.Plenty of cloud around, thotgh, and just a couple of clear spells,
:04:21. > :04:23.and in these clear spells, we could see a couple of pockets
:04:24. > :04:26.Quite dense fog, actually, so take care on
:04:27. > :04:29.Temperatures overnight stayhng quite mild, dropping
:04:30. > :04:35.So, after a dull and overcast start to the day tomorrow,
:04:36. > :04:38.with this fog, it will slowly, slowly clear and we'll start
:04:39. > :04:40.to see some brighter spells tomorrow afternoon.
:04:41. > :04:44.Temperatures feeling quite pleasant in that sunshine as well,
:04:45. > :04:58.That's all for now, Look North is back from 6:25 tomorrow morning And
:04:59. > :05:02.you can stay in touch throughout the day on your local BBC Radio station.