Government Must Honour 'Decent Homes' Pledge

Published by JenCooke for National Federation of ALMOs in Housing and also in Central Government, Local Government

Housing Organisation Applauds Decent Homes Success Story But Calls For Government to Maintain Funding

The National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) is calling for the government to honour its promises to bring all council homes up to a Decent standard following a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) which revealed significant shortfalls in funding and delays to the programme.

The NFA, whose members manage more than half of the country’s council homes, is calling for the government to ensure that sufficient funding is allocated to the Decent Homes programme to ensure that all of the essential home improvements can be completed.

According to the NAO report, the Decent Homes programme is now expected to finish in 2019 – nine years after the 2010 deadline and at a cost of £37bn compared to the £19bn originally budgeted.

As a result of the Programme, 86 per cent of properties now meet the Decent Homes standard nationally. However the NFA has echoed concerns raised in the report, over the government’s commitment to continued investment in Decent Homes beyond the original 2010 deadline.

The report found that the achievements of Decent Homes will be at risk “if a reliable funding mechanism is not put in place to deliver the remainder of the Programme and to maintain homes to Decent Standard.”

Alison Inman NFA Chair said:

“The NFA welcomes the findings of the NAO report which highlights the considerable investment and achievements of the Decent Homes programme over the past eight years. Across ALMOs in particular, over 220,000 homes have been brought up to the standard. However the government must see the project through to the end and then provide the necessary funds for a rolling programme of maintenance in the future.

“The government’s decision to defer £150 million of the Decent Homes budget has left thousands of council tenants with an uncertain future and it is essential that we continue to maintain and improve existing stock as new build alone will never satisfy the need.”

ALMOs have a remarkable record of improving services and involving tenants in key decision making with 37 ALMOs having achieved the Audit Commission’s two-star rating while a further 21 have been awarded the maximum three-star rating; a track record unsurpassed by the housing association or traditional local authority sectors.

Following the government’s decision to defer £150m of Decent Homes funding, ALMO tenants from across the country have backed an NFA led petition on the 10 Downing Street website calling for ministers to honour their financial pledges.

To sign the petition, visit http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/DecentHomes/