Posted 15.04.15
Following the reclassification of housing associations as public non-financial corporations by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the Government made an immediate commitment to bring in changes necessary to prompt the ONS to reverse this decision and, in January, laid a number of deregulatory amendments to the Housing and Planning Bill intended to address the ONS' concerns.
The Government has now tabled an additional amendment to address other instances of public sector control that it has become aware of, relating to local authority influence over Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) organisations.
The National Housing Federation has updated its member briefing - Deregulatory measures introduced in response to the
ONS reclassification of housing associations - which can be accessed via this link.
Posted 05.04.16
L&Q, The Hyde Group and East Thames have entered into merger talks with a view to creating one of the country's top four largest house builders.
Together, the three organisations will be able to build 100,000 new homes across London and the South East - 35,000 more homes than they could have achieved alone, representing an investment of £25 billion over the next ten years.
Half of these new homes will be for people on lower incomes, making the new organisation the largest provider of affordable homes in the country. In total, 25,000 affordable new homes will be set aside for first time buyers and 25,000 new homes will be for affordable rent, with the remaining 50,000 new homes for market rent and sale.
In addition to building 100,000 new homes, the new organisation will also be responsible for managing 135,000 homes.
The new organisation, worth an estimated £30 billion, will continue to provide good quality homes as well as better and easier access to services for residents, delivering these through a new regional structure to ensure continued local accountability.
The merger will also see the creation of a new training academy with a £5 million a year increase in investment over existing training budgets. This will provide nationally accredited apprenticeship schemes, greater career development opportunities for staff and training and employment options for residents in the communities they serve.
As a result of the merger, L&Q, The Hyde Group and East Thames will be able to deliver efficiency savings of £50 million a year within five years, primarily through combining back office functions, investment in IT, flexible working, growth through development and combined purchasing power in procurement.
Through the expertise that East Thames brings, a large care and support subsidiary will be created taking in supported housing from all three partners and investing in a new offer for vulnerable and older people, catering for London's ageing population.
In addition, the new organisation will set aside £250 million over and above current spending levels for community investment, funding like-minded charities and groups to deliver projects which make London and the South East a better place to live.
