Section: Local Authorities

LA News

Tenants of Little London in Leeds voted in favour of a private finance initiative (PFI) that will see £85 million injected into their homes and local environment. The proposals will see at least £35,000 spent on each council house in the area over the next 30 years. 125 new social houses will be built and a further 400 developed for sale. Four years ago, tenants rejected a £45 million PFI scheme.
Oldham Council was given approval by the ODPM for a housing private finance initiative, to rebuild and refurbish its 1,600 plus sheltered housing units. A consortium led by Housing 21 has been selected as the preferred bidder.
The Scottish Executive accepted a case put forward by Moray Council that the Right to Buy needs to be suspended from some of its tenants. The Council's case was based on the substantial pressure on social housing in Elgin, Lossiemouth, and rural areas around Forres. The suspension applies to tenancies that commenced on or after 30 September 2002. Moray became the fourth Scottish council to suspend the Right to Buy.
Shetland Council announced it will invest £13 million of its own money to develop much needed new housing in the area. The move responds to the fear that Scottish Executive investment will not be sufficient to provide the development needed to meet the 2012 statutory duty target of housing all unintentionally homeless people.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council sealed an agreement with thirteen housing associations for a two-month pilot exercise aimed at tackling the problem of dumped rubbish on estates. The scheme will target fly tipping and aim to remove it within 48 hours of being aware of it.

ALMO Update

The ALMO Hounslow Homes was reported to be in talks with the Housing Corporation, to examine options for accessing grant funding. The ALMO is blocked from accessing grant because it does not own the housing stock it manages or have an asset base that fits the Corporation's grant requirements. However, Hounslow Homes aspires to have a new home development programme and its ongoing discussions with the Corporation will be closely monitored by other ALMOs.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were reported to have produced a way of reducing the VAT payable by ALMOs on services they provide to organisations other than their local authority. Up until now, ALMOs developing new business other than their housing management and improvement functions have had to levy VAT on those services. Housing associations using those services have not been able to claim back the VAT. The PwC model uses a joint employment contract arrangement, whereby if an association buys services from an ALMO, staff from both organisations are involved in delivering them.

Section: Local Authorities

LA News

ALMO Update

Housing Monthly Diary

Reporting on March 2006

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