Keep your own council

Never one to shy from the fracas which is the tenure reform debate, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith got his critics going by repeating his desire to scrap life tenancies in his interview with Inside Housing last month.

Former Housing Corporation boss Jon Rouse was less forthright at Inside Housing’s recent Question Time event. The chief executive of Croydon Council, explained why the time for reform had not yet been reached. ‘I want to keep my job and we have an election in six weeks’ time,’ he said.

‘It looks good, smells good and the ingredients are amazing.’ Not the first time an ALMO has won praise - but possibly the first celebration of one’s olfactory qualities.

Disappointingly, this trio of plaudits is not the Audit Commission’s verdict on a particularly enticing arm’s-length management organisation. Rather it’s www.pet-food-choice.co.uk’s description of ALMO Nature, a Genoese range of pet food which is going down a storm with the site’s reviewers.

Beating off stiff competition from ALMO Nature holistic croquettes (duck and rice) and the ALMO Nature wet pouch (chicken and squid), Closed Circuit is delighted to reveal the winner of the coveted Pet Food Choice favourite product is … the ALMO Nature cuisine pouch. A new avenue to explore for ALMOs seeking to diversify post-decent homes perhaps?

The venerable Marylebone Cricket Club hopes to safeguard the future of test cricket by introducing a fluorescent pink ball.

Bright pink, uncertain future. Haven’t we been here before?

Police in Exeter have taken a novel approach to highlighting the lax security practised by students living in Houses in Multiple Occupation.

A gang of 16 officers ‘burgled’ around 50 HMOs in the university town, pilfering laptops, MP3 players and other valuables. Each haul was bundled into a bag marked ‘swag’ and left on the kitchen table, along with a cautionary note warning against careless security.

The light-fingered cops now face accusations of trespass - housing officers tempted to try similar tactics might like to talk to a lawyer first.

Send your juicy housing gossip to closedcircuit@insidehousing.co.uk