Tenants Cry Foul To Shapps

Sandwell Council tenants have written to housing minister Grant Shapps to say they are not being consulted properly on plans to return the management of their homes to the local authority.  The council launched a consultation in May on whether to bring the 29,000 homes currently managed by ALMO Sandwell Homes back in-house by April 2013 or allow the current contract to expire in October 2014.  But the chairs and vice chairs of six housing service panels - made up of tenants, leaseholders and owner-occupiers - have written to Mr Shapps complaining the consultation is not being carried out fairly. The tenants claim the council has disregarded CLG guidance published last December. The guidance says consultation exercises undertaken by councils scrapping their ALMOs ‘should be as comprehensive’ as that undertaken when the ALMO was set up.  The tenants’ letter said: ‘Tenants have not been involved in any option appraisal, there is no list of pros or cons and a lack of detail on the financial implications.’ Read more on Inside Housing.