03 October 2003
Minister panned for PFI promotion
A senior civil servant came to the rescue of housing minister Keith Hill as he struggled to breathe new life into the Private Finance Initiative.
To the consternation of some housing association leaders, Hill used his speech on September 25 to the National Housing Federation conference in Birmingham to appeal to local authorities to join the third round of housing PFI schemes.
One stunned senior figure in the RSL sector said it was the wrong occasion to promote the PFI. 'I'd like to get hold of his speechwriter,' she added.
Hill, who took over as housing minister in June, said he expected strong interest in the £600m of credits available in round three and later told a press conference: 'We are beginning to see the benefits of PFIs coming through.'
When it was pointed out that just two councils had signed housing PFI deals in five years and only one had carried out any work, he turned in desperation to Neil McDonald, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's director of housing, who promised future schemes would be made simpler.
Hill, who is the fourth housing minister to visit the conference in as many years, then added: 'We are eager to see as widespread a set of bids as possible. We want to see one thousand flowers bloom.'
After he had also sought McDonald's help over questions about the starter home initiative and the Housing Corporation's development programme, Hill said it was 'preposterous' that there had been so many housing ministers in such a short time.
He then vowed to try and hang on to his job for more than a year. 'Having started on this, I'm keen to keep going,' he told reporters.
Consumer choice is important, says Strachan
Housing associations must be more willing to listen to criticism of their services and offer wider consumer choice, according to the chair of the Audit Commission.
James Strachan told the conference that landlords were sometimes too quick to pat themselves on the back involving tenants in decision-making and overlooked the need to diversify.
Calling on registered social landlords to put users at the centre of their work, he pointed to the problems facing associations in the north of England where low demand has left some estates almost empty.
'The general view is that tenant associations were the first shining example of people getting together at local level,' said Strachan. 'But in the area of choice and product diversification, there is still some way to go.'
He added: 'Housing associations in the north discovered that they had a product which nobody wanted anymore. Expectations had changed, but at the time they didn't have a market mechanism to draw it to their attention.'
The Audit Commission took over inspections of RSLs in April from the Housing Corporation. Although Strachan did not comment on early results, he pointed to the Comprehensive Performance Assessment of councils as an indication of the value of self-assessment and peer review.
'Not everything has to be objective or measurable and metric,' he told delegates. 'If you want to drive improvement, then what is better than a subjective opinion, so long as it comes from a respected source.'
Strachan was speaking after the NHF announced that more than 100 RSLs had signed up for its 'In business for neighbourhoods' campaign. Landlords who support re-branding will use defined logos on letterheads, business cards and other promotional material.
Homeless families 'let down' by RSLs
Housing associations have been ticked off for not doing enough to tackle homelessness.
Just 17% of homes let by RSLs go to homeless households nominated by local authorities, according to Office of the Deputy Prime Minister figures.
Although this is up from 13% in 1997, the ODPM is determined that councils and RSLs should work more closely to help the government meet its homelessness targets.
Terrie Alafat, director of the ODPM's homelessness directorate, said the increase in lets during the past six years had been minimal and suggested some housing associations were reluctant to take homeless families.
'It raises serious questions about what is going on in some parts of the country,' Alafat told a fringe session at the conference. Councils who offer 34% of lettings to homeless households could also improve their allocations, she added.
Diane Henderson, head of care and support at the NHF, said 60% of RSL homes are let to tenants nominated by councils. In London, the figure rises to 80%. 'If we are not rehousing homeless people, it may mean local authorities are not nominating them,' she said.
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