CLG misses HRA reform deadline
The Communities and Local Government department has delayed the publication of responses to a consultation on reform of council housing finance.
The deadline for responses to plans to dismantle the housing revenue account subsidy system was 6 July, and the CLG was due to publish these by the end of the month.
It said ‘pressures of government business’ have prevented it from meeting this deadline, and is now promising an announcement on the way forward for HRA reform by early September.
The previous government set out plans to scrap the HRA, which sees council housing revenues channelled through the Treasury and redistributed, in favour of a self-financing system. In return for this autonomy councils would be expected to take a share of £25 billion of debt.
The coalition government has said it will stick with the Labour government’s timetable for HRA reform, but has not yet said what direction the reform will take.
An update on the implementation of the CLG’s structural reform plan outlines the progress the department is making in meeting the aims of the new government.
Publishing the HRA responses is the only one of five actions it has not completed, with goals on scrapping regional strategies, designing incentives to get local authorities to build homes, data transparency and creating an online discussion forum all met.
The update also lists a range of actions that were due to be started by the end of July, and the structural reform plan outlines goals for the autumn and beyond.
These include introducing the Localism Bill in November, which will give local authorities more control over housing and other areas.
Other deadlines include setting out plans for a home-swap scheme in October, and from September promoting ‘home on the farm’ schemes to encourage farmers to convert disused or underused agricultural buildings into affordable housing.
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