Housing Associations – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for CLG what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the bidding system for prospective tenants operated by housing associations; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Stunell: Research into the longer term impacts of choice based lettings (CBL) was carried out by Heriot Watt university for the Department for Communities and Local Government and the report of the findings, "Monitoring the longer term impacts of choice based letting", was published by the Department in October 2006. The research assessed the impacts of choice based lettings across a range of issues, including tenancy sustainment, community cohesion, tenant mobility, demand for social housing and cost-effectiveness, and the report included the following findings:
*in the context of multi-ethnic areas, choice based letting tends to reduce rather than compound ethnic segregation
*outcomes for homeless households are largely positive, eg under choice based lettings they are more likely to be housed in high demand areas
*choice based lettings generates improved tenancy sustainment
*choice based lettings encourages applicants to think more flexibly about their housing choices
*choice based lettings set-up costs can be off-set by housing management efficiencies.