Section: Housing Finance

Councils Encouraged to Work Together on HRA Reform

The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) is encouraging local authorities to work together to develop a new housing finance formula, which could mean a more positive future for council housing.

APSE and the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) staged a recent event in London, which brought 75 key local authority decision-makers together to formulate their response to the Government's consultation on reform of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA),

Speaking at the event, APSE Chief Executive, Paul O�Brien, said:

"After ten years of lobbying to reform the hugely unpopular housing finance system, we are pleased to see the beginning of the end of the national HRA system.

"We want to work constructively with local authorities and central government to form a consensus to allow self-financing models to be made a reality as soon as possible.

"The next few months are vitally important as the consultation comes to an end and a new formula and debt settlement are discussed.

"We are encouraged by Housing Minister John Healey's commitment to reforming the system. This is a chance to make changes that are vital to the future of council housing.

"Alongside new building that is now under way in significant numbers for the first time in decades, this could be an opportunity for council housing to, once again, become a quality affordable option for all not just a safety net for some."

APSE will work with members to inform its formal response to the Government's consultation on HRA, which ends on October 27.

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Reporting on October 2009

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