The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has released a sector report investigating the sector’s expectations and concerns with the reorganisation of local government
The report, titled Redrawing the map: Views from housing professionals on local government reorganisation, highlights that many professionals are concerned about UK housing delivery with recently announced changes.
This includes 53% of local authority respondents being very concerned (8 out of 10 on the scale) with housing service continuity during reorganisation.
Certain aspects are considered high risk
The respondents placed the housing register and allocations as the most concerning, with 66% agreeing, then housing strategy at 58%, regulatory and compliance at 50%, and temporary accommodation at 50%.
In the wake of the announced devolution of power and reorganisation of local governments, the CIH is calling for measures to be taken to prevent these issues, including:
- Publish a clear, housing-specific timeline for reorganisation, setting out which services and policies should be in place by vesting day, and suggested timescales for those where transition to new systems may take several months
- Issue a day one safe and legal checklist detailing all statutory services that should be in place on vesting day
- Ensure that local authorities have adequate staffing and resources to support reorganisation
- Provide specific technical guidance on the merging of Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) and creation of new allocations registers, learning from previous experiences of unitarisation
An opportunity to deliver housing ambitions
Tom Arnold, policy manager for regional engagement and devolution at CIH, said: “Local government reorganisation represents an opportunity to help deliver on this government’s housing ambitions. New, larger unitary authorities, working with mayoral strategic authorities, can contribute to the development of more and better homes throughout England.
“However, reorganisation is also a significant challenge for housing professionals. Our survey reveals a range of concerns about how LGR is impacting the sector, with particular worries about the continuity of housing services during the transition to new councils. We encourage government to continue in their support for areas undergoing LGR and to provide clear, housing-specific guidance.
“The responses to this survey have enabled us to better understand the concerns of housing professionals that have developed as a result of LGR. We will continue to work with government and partners across the sector to ensure housing professionals are supported through reorganisation.”
One major aspect of devolution under Andy Burnham’s government was announced last week as for the first time, mayors will retain a portion of income tax and business rates revenues to put towards transport, housebuilding, and skills training.
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