Marsh insists its business as usual at TSA
The chief executive of the Tenant Services Authority has written to all housing associations telling them they must continue to meet its standards despite plans to scrap the regulator.
In the letter Peter Marsh stresses that the 2008 Housing and Regeneration Act remains in force and the TSA is committed to delivering its objectives.
‘We will continue to regulate on the basis of the TSA’s regulatory framework and expect all registered providers to operate on this basis,’ he states.
‘In practice this means you should continue to meet the obligations set out in the TSA’s standards, which came into effect on 1 April 2010.’
Housing minister Grant Shapps announced a review of social housing regulation last week, and made it clear he intends to get rid of the existing regulator.
However his plans appear to have been held back by the Treasury, which is understood to have insisted on a full review of social housing regulation, including the possibility of retaining the TSA.
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, reportedly wrote a letter to senior government figures including prime minister David Cameron warning that scrapping the regulator could damage the ability of housing associations to borrow money.
There are also concerns that if social housing regulation becomes a function of government then the £50 billion of existing debt held by housing associations would be transferred to the public balance sheet, increasing government debt.
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Readers' comments (6)
Junior | 02/07/2010 8:25 pm
Go Peter go baby and get on handling those complaints that was trigged by those Customer's and get those Housing Association with Short Notice Inspection adhering to them.
Go baby
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Anonymous | 03/07/2010 9:51 am
Business as usual?
That's a bit head in the sand isn't it?
It all comes back to the question 'what is the purpose of the TSA?' and the question has to be does the TSA method achieve the desired outcome?
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Anonymous | 03/07/2010 10:52 am
Once a quangocrat always a quangocrat.
Polly is definitely dead, deceased, no longer with us, gorrrn ...
Clear off.
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philipjohn001 | 03/07/2010 6:25 pm
The fact is that it will require primary legislation to 'get rid' of the TSA. Until a Bill goes through Parliment and becomes law the TSA still continues to exsist and the Regulatory Framework is still in place.
Even Mr Shapps can't just shut them down - even if he would really really like to...
Personally I think that the TSA has done a lot of good so far - even if it has been a bit costly, it's still nowhere near as expensive as the Audit Commission for instance and while some providers would dearly love to see the back of them it's business as usual (within the new framework) until a law says otherwise.
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Anonymous | 05/07/2010 12:02 pm
Grant Shapps should remind Peter Marsh who is the democratically elected director of UK PLC and who is the employee.
Then he should sack Peter Marsh and all the employees with immediate effect. Clear your desks and go.
Practically any employee worth their salt will be looking to get another job as soon as possible anyway. Only the 2nd and 3rd rates will cling desparately to power.
Peter and his ilk are like the characters in Look back in Anger, 'Flowers left over from the Victorian garden who dont realise the sun is never going to shine again'
In 2010 the Grave train is stopping and we hope it will never start again.
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John Paul Maytum | 05/07/2010 4:30 pm
When Grant Shapps gave his speech to the CIH conference he very carefully did NOT say 'I am abolishing the TSA'. He said lots of things about the TSA being expensive and over-engineered, but he did not say it was being abolished.
So until it is abolished, and until Parliament has passed a law to make it disappear, and until there is the new structure then Peter Marsh is right - the TSA is still the legal regulator.
And as for whether the TSA will be abolished - well only time will tell
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