11 July 2003
Housing associations are unlikely to rush into paying board members up to £20,000 per year, the National Housing Federation said this week.
The Housing Corporation announced on July 2 that associations will be allowed to pay governors in the same way as NHS trusts and other public sector bodies. But the NHF said it did not believe that this would be an immediate priority for most registered social landlords.
The corporation stressed that only the chairs of very large RSLs should receive £20,000. 'Payment is only one of a number of tools that boards should be considering in their efforts to achieve and maintain the highest standards of governance,' said corporation chair Baroness Dean.
James Tickell, NHF deputy chief executive, said total payments to board members should not exceed 1% of turnover. 'I don't think many RSLs will pick it up for a year or two,' he said. 'It could be a quick fix [where RSLs struggle to attract board members] but there may well be other reasons why they can't recruit.'
Meanwhile, an amendment to the Finance Bill has saved RSLs from having to pay up to £2m in stamp duty on tenancy agreements signed before March 2000.
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