Housing revenue system review launched
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on March 12, 2008
Related ItemsConnaught posts strong resultsGreat Places does refinancing deal Caring Homes implements new system for future growth English Churches in firing line over “poor” payBovis warns of housing credit crunch Wandsworth Council calls for end to stamp duty amble?/a>House prices rise in October Keepmoat results prove impressiveProfit rise for Barratts Persimmon posts results Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Caroline Flint, Minister for Housing and Planning, have this week formally launched the review of the Housing Revenue Account Subsidy system.
Back in December last year, Yvette Cooper when she was Minister for Housing and Planning, announced the review as part of a wide ranging package of measures designed both to deliver the new homes the country needs, plus making existing homes fit for the 21st Century.
The review was launched at the House of Commons before an invited group of key stakeholders. It will build on the work of the pilots the government has conducted with six local authorities looking at the costs and benefits of councils operating outside the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system.
It will consider evidence about the need to spend on management, maintenance and repairs. It will consider rent policy, including the relationship between council rents and rents set by other social housing providers. It will also consider how the self-financing model developed in the pilot exercise would fit with the aims of the review and, if it is consistent with these, how it could be implemented. And it will consider whether the rules which govern the operation of the HRA need to be changed in order to fit with a new system of financing.
The review commenced with a debate on the draft terms of reference and, to take the work forward, the Ministers announced that the Chartered Institute of Housing would be hosting a number of expert workshops on the main themes of the review to gather evidence to inform the review.
Caroline Flint added:
%26quot;The Housing Revenue Account Subsidy system is very complex and I know that people are unhappy with it because of its seeming unfairness and lack of transparency. I want the system to work so that it delivers for tenants and local authorities - and to get it right in the long term. This review, with the active engagement of key stakeholders, is essential to that. I also welcome the work of the Self-Financing Group, which will contribute significantly to the review.%26quot;
Yvette Cooper added:
%26quot;This Government has invested %26pound;20bn since 1997 in making social homes decent. This is an important review to help make sure that investment delivers value for money and can be sustained into the future.%26quot;
The review will be carried out jointly by officials from HM Treasury and CLG, with extensive stakeholder engagement and is expected to report to ministers in spring 2009.
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