Council With In-House Housing Service And ALMO Plans New ‘Combined Hybrid Service’

 Since being formed through a merger between three local authorities in April 2019, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has continued to run an ALMO, Poole Housing Partnership (PHP), and an in-house housing service simultaneously. Now BCP’s cabinet has unanimously agreed to a review of its housing management model, with a “combined hybrid service” as its preferred option. That would involve closing PHP and setting up a new housing service within the council overseen by an “advisory board”, chaired by the council’s portfolio holder for housing and made up of council, resident and independent expert members. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/council-with-in-house-housing-service-and-almo-plans-new-combined-hybrid-service-71946?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Council Moves To Shut Down ALMO

Haringey Council in north London has begun the process of shutting down its ALMO and bringing some 15,000 homes back in house. The council said that the decision to close Homes for Haringey was an “essential” move to strengthen resident voice, improve accountability and ensure services are joined up. It comes amid a spate of councils across England taking similar decisions to shut down their ALMOs for reasons including breaches of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Home Standard and cost-saving measures. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/london-council-moves-to-shut-down-almo-69375 

Council Set To Confirm Plan To Shut ALMO

Manchester City Council’s executive committee is expected to rubber stamp the decision to close Northwards Housing. Northwards manages around 13,000 homes on behalf of the local authority, having been established in 2005. A test of opinion consultation with residents gathered 1,633 votes with 93% indicating their support for the council’s proposal to bring housing management under its direct control. Manchester Council declared its intention to scrap Northwards in June amid concerns over its repairs service and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) finances. The authority’s 30-year HRA business plan is forecast to end up £438m in deficit. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/manchester-city-council-set-to-confirm-plan-to-shut-almo-69148?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

North East Council Confirms Decision To Close ALMO

 A council in the North East with around 19,000 homes has resolved to shut down its ALMO and bring housing management in house. Gateshead Council’s cabinet agreed to scrap The Gateshead Housing Company (TGHC). The authority said the move will ensure its housing stock is maintained “as effectively and efficiently as possible” and help to “deliver a new vision for all the council’s housing functions”. It follows a consultation with residents, which indicated strong support for the proposal to shut TGHC with a 12% response rate. Repairs and maintenance emerged as the most important priority for the vast majority of residents. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/north-east-council-confirms-decision-to-close-almo-68662?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Council Gains Resident Backing For ALMO Closure

Gateshead Council said a consultation on scrapping The Gateshead Housing Company (TGHC) found that 93% of tenants and leaseholders who responded were in favour of the plans. The council’s cabinet will meet on 17 November to “consider the next steps” following the consultation, which received just under 2,500 responses. Councillors agreed in principle to close TGHC in March, having placed the ALMO under review in 2019. Putting the ALMO under review came after the Regulator of Social Housing deemed the council to have breached the Home Standard on fire, asbestos and electrical safety failings. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/north-east-council-gains-resident-backing-for-almo-closure-68331#:~:text=A%20council%20in%20the%20North,19%2C000%20homes%20back%20in%20house.&text=Gateshead%20Council%20said%20a%20consultation,in%20favour%20of%20the%20plans 

Social Houses Taken Back Under Full Council Control

Council properties in Kirklees are to return to in-house management following a vote by the council’s decision-making Cabinet. More than 21,000 properties will come back under the authority’s direct control before the end of March 2021. The move spells the end of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH), the arms-length management organisation (ALMO) that has run the borough’s council homes since 2002. The final decision came after an 11-week consultation with tenants and lease-holders, which resulted in more than 2,500 responses. Read more on the Yorkshire Live website.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/thousands-social-houses-taken-back-19137353 

Housing Services To Be Brought Back In-House By Trafford Council

 Vital housing services are being brought back under direct council control in Trafford after more than 15 years. From April 1 2021, the council’s social housing provision waiting list, homelessness services and homes advice services will all be run by the council for the first time in 16 years after they were outsourced in 2005. Since 2015, Salix Homes have been the council’s providers but now the authority has made the decision to bring the service back under its own control ‘as part of its commitment to providing social housing and tackle homelessness’. Salix Homes staff will be moving over with the service when it returns to the council. Read more on the MEN website.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/vital-housing-services-brought-back-19102530

East Kent Housing Ditched As Councils Take Back Control Of 17,000 Homes

Councils have taken back control of about 17,000 homes which were formerly under the management of scandal-hit East Kent Housing. Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe, Dover and Thanet authorities will now bring the day-to-day running of their properties in-house. Seventy new jobs have been created across the four districts as a result of the changes. East Kent Housing (EKH) was at the centre of a scandal in 2019, when it was discovered its management of properties was riddled with systemic failings. Thousands of safety rulings had been flouted, and the councils' chief executives admitted they "had no choice" but to axe the board and work towards dismantling the operator. Read more on Kentonline.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/councils-take-back-control-of-17-000-homes-234785/

Two More Councils Set To Close ALMOs

Kirklees and Manchester councils have declared intentions to scrap their housing management companies and return the service in house. The former currently relies on Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) to run the vast majority of its 22,000 homes. But its Labour cabinet has agreed to start consulting with residents and staff about closing KNH, claiming that the move will aid “better understanding and [address] challenges individuals and communities face”. Manchester Council’s Labour cabinet has completed a review of its ALMO, Northwards Housing, and stated its preference to take back direct control of managing its 13,000 homes. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/two-more-councils-set-to-close-almos-66684

East Kent Housing Staff And Services Set To Transfer To Councils

The staff and the services of a scandal-hit social housing firm are set to transfer to the four councils that own it across Kent on September 30. East Kent Housing manages more than 17,000 properties on behalf of councils in Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, and Thanet. The decision to break it up was made by councillors at all four councils at the start of the year following a consultation with tenants. It was prompted by a series of health and safety failings discovered at some of the properties EKH was managing for the councils. Read more at Kentonline.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/date-set-for-takeover-of-scandal-hit-housing-firm-226241/

Social Housing In Gateshead Could Be Brought Back Under The Council's Control

Housing services in Gateshead could be coming back under council control. Gateshead Council's cabinet has agreed to consult on proposals to bring housing services back inhouse. This follows an independent review of housing in the borough, currently provided by Gateshead Housing Company. This means the council is now beginning a formal consultation on bringing back responsibility for the management and maintenance of the housing stock to the authority. Coun John Adams, cabinet member for housing said: “The Gateshead Housing Company was set up in 2004 to help unlock funding through the Government’s Decent Homes Programme which has now ended.” Read more on the Gateshead Chronicle website.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/social-housing-gateshead-could-brought-17978719

Council Can Free Up £40m Bringing Housing Services Back In-House

Newark and Sherwood District Council is the latest authority to confirm a bid to bring housing back in-house – freeing up £40m for related re-investment over 30 years. A consultation with residents is underway. The council acknowledges its ALMO Newark and Sherwood Homes (NSH) – set up 15 years ago – is high performing having led an “impressive” programme of improvements to council stock. But the council says the original case for an arm’s length housing management company no longer applies. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/council-can-free-up-40m-bringing-housing-services-back-in-house/

Closing ALMOs Produces Mixed Results For Housing Services

The number of ALMOs has halved over the past decade, with a number of high-profile closures in the past two years. Local authorities often cite efficiency savings and performance improvements as reasons for taking the service back in house, but Inside Housing’s research suggests the picture is mixed. While some authorities saw improvements in areas such as tenant satisfaction, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) finances and re-let times for empty homes after shutting down their ALMOs, others have seen declines in performance. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/almo-closures-how-are-they-affecting-services-60071

ALMO Set For Return To Council

CityWest Homes – the arms-length housing organisation serving Westminster City Council – is set for a return to council control and restoration of its “public service ethos”. A formal decision on the ALMOs future will be taken by the council’s Cabinet next month – subject to consultation – after a report confirmed a need for ‘culture change’. Set up as an ALMO in 2002, CityWest Homes provides housing services for over 12,000 social housing tenants and 9,000 leaseholders for the council. Following concerns about the ALMOs performance highlighted by residents and ward councillors, the council commissioned an independent review into the issues. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/almo-set-for-return-to-council-control-and-culture-change/

Council Housing To Come Back Under Council Control

The council housing management services, previously provided by A1 Housing will be directly delivered by Bassetlaw District Council from Monday 1st October. Councillors at Bassetlaw District Council took the decision at an extra-ordinary meeting of Council on 2nd August 2018 following a consultation with tenants and leaseholders in which 60% of respondents supported the proposal to take A1 Housing back in house. The move is expected to generate savings of £335,000 a year, enabling more money to be invested in the services that matter to tenants like­­ repairs and estate improvements. A1 Housing staff and services, such as repairs, rent collection and estate maintenance, will be taken back in-house by Bassetlaw District Council. Read more on the A1 Housing website.

https://www.a1housing.co.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/council-housing-to-come-back-under-bassetlaw-district-council.aspx

ALMO Under Threat As Council Reviews Housing Options

Conservative-run Borough of Poole has conducted an independent review of its housing services as it mulls over whether to dissolve Poole Housing Partnership (PHP), which manages the authority’s 5,000 homes. The council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee has considered the review document at a meeting. A petition signed by 350 Poole residents calling for the council to reject any recommendations “which could result in the closure of, or reduction in” PHP services has been submitted to the council. Read more on Inside Housing.

Social Housing Shake-Up To Save Millions

Wigan Council will save £5.5m by taking back control of the majority of the borough’s social housing stock, a report has revealed. The cash-strapped local authority is faced with a savings target of £43m by 2020 and hopes re-integrating Wigan and Leigh Homes will help. A report due to be considered by town hall’s ruling cabinet this week says the move will save £1m next year, with the rest of the savings over the next three years. More than 22,000 homes are currently managed by arm’s length management organisation (Almo) WALH.  From 171 responses received during a consultation, 14 tenants disagreed with the plans to return functions back to the council. The most valued service tenants wanted prioritising was repairs, the figures show. Read more on the Wigan Today website. 

Future Of Brent’s Council Housing To Be Discussed

A report seeking approval to begin a 12 week consultation with residents regarding the future management of Brent's housing will be discussed by Brent Council later this month. Housing management services for Brent are currently delivered by Brent Housing Partnership (BHP), an arm's length management organisation (ALMO) which was set-up in by the Council in 2002. In June, Cabinet commissioned a review of the current arrangements. The review was also a response to concerns with BHP's performance. The options considered were to continue with a reformed BHP, to bring housing management back under direct council control, or to set up a partnership with another housing provider. The recommendation being presented to Cabinet is to bring the service back in-house so it is directly under the council's control. Read more on the Brent Housing Partnership website.

Wigan Council To Consult On Scrapping ALMO

Wigan Council will consult on scrapping its ALMO and bringing housing management back in-house. The council reviewed Wigan and Leigh Homes and a subsequent report published by consultancy Deloitte concluded an in-house housing service would work better than the current ALMO set-up. Wigan and Leigh Homes was set up in 2002 and manages 22,600 homes. A report to the council said: “At the time, the formation of the ALMO was the correct decision, and was the only way that the council could have secured such significant investment in its housing stock.” Read more on Inside Housing.

Council Scraps ALMO To Save £500k

A Midlands council is set to take the management of its housing stock in-house to save at least £500,000 a year. Councillors on Ashfield District Council, in Nottinghamshire agreed a report recommending the council scraps its arm’s-length management organisation (ALMO) Ashfield Homes. The council will take advantage of a five-year break clause in its contract with the ALMO to take the management of its 6,800 homes in-house by next April. The decision followed a consultation, including a survey which found 64.6% of 756 tenants were satisfied with the proposals. The council has estimated the proposal will save £500,000 a year through the removal of posts in the back office and of senior staff. Read more on the Ashfield Homes website.