ALMO Chief Vanishes As Council Takeover Looms

The chief executive of the England’s largest ALMO has not been at work for almost two months.  Peter Morton, chief executive of Sheffield Homes, which manages 42,000 homes for Sheffield Council, has been off work since around mid-May without explanation to councillors and tenants.  A Labour councillor asked about the reasons for Mr Morton’s absence at an interim board meeting on 21 June, and a Liberal Democrat councillor asked again on 4 July, but on both occasions the question went unanswered. He was last present at a Sheffield Homes board meeting on 16 May.  It is understood that Mr Morton’s absence is related to the decision to bring social housing back under the wings of the city council. In February, tenants and residents overwhelmingly voted in favour of the local authority managing their homes.  The original plan was to wind up Sheffield Homes in 2014. But in a letter sent to tenants and residents in May, the council said the plan is now to bring the date forward to next April. Read more on Inside Housing.