13 April 2007
Council-owned housing companies face an uncertain future after ministers announced plans for 16 new unitary authorities.
About one in ten arm's-length management organisations is owned by a district council that could be abolished as part of the proposed local government reorganisation.
Among the authorities short-listed for unitary status are ten county councils. Gwyneth Taylor, policy officer at the National Federation of Almos, said there was a close relationship between districts and Almos, which receive a management fee from their parent council.
While any reorganisation is bound to mean merging housing revenue accounts, the situation is complicated because some districts own Almos and others have transferred their homes to registered social landlords. Among Almos affected are East Durham Homes and South Lakes Housing in Cumbria.
Peter Thomas, chief executive of South Lakes, said its management agreement would switch to any unitary council, but tenants wished to retain a strong local voice. 'They want to keep services at grass-roots level,' he said.
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