26 April 2002
The London Borough of Hounslow had been told by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions that it could transfer most of its housing functions to the Almo.
But during mid-February, the authority was informed that only direct landlord services should be switched and not areas such as homelessness and private sector renewal.
Chris Langstaff, previously director of housing at Hounslow and now head of the new organisation, Hounslow Homes, said it was horrendous having to split the proposed Almo at the last minute and lose the economies of scale.
'The ideal is to passport the [entire] housing revenue account,' he told the April 18 conference organised by the School of Business and Industrial Management. 'If you leave bits behind, there has to be huge discussions about how it's paid for.' The £500,000 bill is on top of start-up costs of £200,000.
Mike Wilkinson, joint head of the DTLR's Almo branch, said ministers wanted Almos to focus on housing management in case other services became a distraction.
PFapr2002
