Associations to Take Over From Councils

Housing associations are drawing up plans to take over neighbourhood services axed by police and councils. Several landlords are considering introducing estate-based charges for tenants in order to maintain community initiatives under threat from spending cuts following the comprehensive spending review. Neighbourhood wardens, mediation and debt advice face the axe in many areas as councils struggle to make efficiency savings of 28 per cent by 2015. Councils, including Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster and Birmingham, have announced plans for hundreds of job cuts, since last month’s CSR. While all pledged to protect front line services, associations are worried that many estate-based initiatives will be dropped. Ruth Cooke, finance director at Midland Heart, confirmed it was discussing whether to ‘step into the breach’ if councils axed services. She said the big question was how services would be funded and if it was acceptable to ask tenants to pay for them from rents or additional charges. Read more on Inside Housing.