Two star ALMO secures funding

Sutton Housing Partnership, which manages 6,670 homes for Sutton council, was given its two star rating by the Audit Commission last week.

This should have allowed the organisation to access funding to improve its homes, which was set aside for ALMOs who meet the grade. But the government has shifted the funding to its house building programmes, and delayed payments by a year until 2011/12.

Despite this, the ALMO said it would get £5 million of government funding from April this year, as part of a £112.5 million investment spread over the next five years.

Chief executive Andrew Taylor confirmed the ALMO was affected by the deferral of funding, but said it had managed to secure the £5 million after discussions between the Homes and Communities Agency and Sutton council.

 ‘We are thrilled to have been awarded these all important two stars and we are extremely proud of what we have all achieved together,’ he said.

The Audit Commission said the ALMO was ‘good’ with ‘promising prospects for improvement’. It praised its rent collection, and work to tackle anti-social behaviour, but was critical of a backlog in external painting and maintenance work, and the condition of some properties when they are let.

In other inspections, the Audit Commission found Paddington Churches Housing Association has ‘a balance of strengths and weaknesses’.

The 13,000 home association is part of Genesis Group, and operates across London and the south east. It was praised for making services accessible to tenants, but fell down on the consistency of its work, and its approach to anti-social behaviour.

Audit Commission lead housing inspector Hugh Boatswain said: ‘It is reassuring to know that PCHA is already aware of many of the weaknesses we highlighted and has plans to address them. But there is still some way to go in the management of anti-social behaviour and service charges before outcomes for tenants are consistent.’

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