THE PENDULUM has swung a little in favour of stock transfer in Wales after tenants in Newport voted overwhelmingly in favour of a switch to Newport City Homes. In a ballot result announced on Friday, 84% of tenants voted in favour of transfer and 16% against. The turnout was 63%.

Newport joins Bridgend, Monmouth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Torfaen on the list of Welsh authorities where tenants have voted yes while tenants in Swansea and Wrexham have voted no. Another five authorities will be balloting their tenants in the next 12 months. In Conwy the campaign has hotted up after local MP Betty Williams came out against the plan and voting continues until next week. Another six councils - most recently Flintshire - have voted to retain their stock without going to a ballot. 

A survey by Inside Housing in August revealed that Welsh councils will have to find almost £900m over the next five years to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2012. Wrexham and Swansea have shortfalls of almost £200m each. In June the new Welsh government ruled out giving authorities any alternative to transfer.

An independent commission set up by Newport Council came out in favour of transfer after concluding that the authority faced a £158m gap between what would be needed to improve its 9,500 homes and what could be raised through traditional funding mechanisms.

Posted by Jules Birch, Nov 19

Posted in Stock transfer, Wales

ONE TRANSFER under fundamental review, a second delayed for two months and a third with all preparations put on hold. It's been a confusing week for stock transfer in Scotland.

First came publication of a detailed inspection of Glasgow Housing Association, the mega transfer that was meant to lead to second stage transfer (SST) to smaller tenant-led associations but hasn't. The report by Communities Scotland gave it a C or Fair rating and noted some successes but called for a 'fundamental review of its purpose and future direction'. 

Next came news that Aberdeen has been told to put all plans for a new transfer ballot on hold until after the spending review and the affordable housing review. According to local press reports, Communties Scotland told it: 'It may be wise for you to avoid the expense and effort of further detailed preparation.' But the council was 'very disappointed and dissatisfied' and fears losing momentum for the scheme. 

Finally, the Inverclyde transfer due on October 1 has been put back by two months to December 3, apparently because of a funding wrangle. Tenants voted yes last November. Local reports quoted a letter from the council's chief executive to councillors saying: 'The problem has been a failure to agree the terms of the transfer agreement itself — a complex and detailed legal document, and one of the very last pieces in the jigsaw. Negotiations will require more time to overcome some far-reaching and fundamental issues. The revised date of 3 December is now the most realistic target.'

However, it is the state of the Glasgow transfer that is inevitably making the political waves in Scotland. The situation has been given added spice by the election of Wendy Alexander, the original architect of the plan, as Labour leader. But the SNP, which opposed the original plan, is now the government that has to decide whether to find extra money to make SST work. 

Communities and sport minister Stewart Maxwell said: 'It is immediately clear that the previous administration failed to put in place a coherent long-term plan when the GHA was created. What's important now is that the interests of current and future tenants are safeguarded. The clock is ticking - GHA now has eight weeks to produce a comprehensive improvement plan that addresses the concerns highlighted in the report.'

Glasgow Housing Association said it welcomed the inspectors' recommendation that 'we must take responsibility for leading that change and...their recommendation that others must allow us to do this'. 

So what happens next? The Scotsman concludes that SST 'faces the axe' while the Herald looks forward to much of the confusion being cleared up next week with a major policy announcement on public housing. The big question is how the SNP will reconcile its opposition to transfer with the need to maximise resources for housing as a whole. 

Posted in Scotland, Stock transfer