18 April 2003
Fifteen more councils have told the government they want to create arm's-length management organisations to oversee their housing.
Demand for places on the third round of the Almo programme, which gets under way later this year, was expected to be slightly higher. But the 15 local authorities, which have not yet been named by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, could still end up placing up to 400,000 homes in the hands of non-profitmaking companies.
Councils were required to make an initial expression of interest by last week and must submit final bids by mid-May.
Gordon Perry, chair of the National Federation of Almos, said councils had just three months to get their bids together. 'It's a very tight timescale,' he added.
The ODPM has set aside almost £2bn for Almos over the next three years. But £300m has already gone to the first eight, which began operating a year ago, while the 13 in round two will start claiming money once they have undergone Audit Commission inspections.
New ODPM figures, meanwhile, show that Almos may be slowing stock transfers. While 167,290 homes were transferred to new registered social landlords in 2002/03, 106,510 were the result of ballots that took place in the previous 12 months. In 2001/02, just 35,390 homes were transferred, making the total over two years 202,680.
Prior to the collapse of proposed transfers in urban areas such as Birmingham, ministers were expecting about 200,000 homes to be transferred each year. 'Councils are definitely looking to other avenues,' said an ODPM spokesman.
PFapr2003
