Charnwood fails to secure vital funding
An arm’s-length management organisation which sacked its finance manager following an overspend has been criticised by inspectors.
Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing, which manages 6,000 properties for Charnwood Council, in Leicestershire, received a one-star rating from the Audit Commission this week for a ‘fair service’ with ‘uncertain prospects for improvement’.
The board has now launched a governance review.
The round six ALMO needed a two-star rating to be eligible for its decent homes funding. The rating is an upgrade from the zero stars the council received when it managed the stock.
In September 2009, the ALMO sacked its interim finance manager Chris Hewis after it made a loss of £630,000 in 2008/09.
A report by accountants Beevers and Struthers cited poor communication between two accounting systems, which meant costs were not correctly recorded, as the cause of the overspend, according to minutes of a July CNH board meeting.
Inspectors praised CNH’s performance on repairs, arrears and anti-social behaviour. But decision-making did not fully involve tenants and the ALMO could be slow when providing support to vulnerable customers.
A CNH spokesperson said the ALMO and council accepted the verdict as a ‘fair assessment’.
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