Cooper: we'll legislate to free councils to build

The government has agreed to introduce laws that free local authorities to build homes, the housing minister told a committee of MPs this week.

During the Communities and Local Government committee meeting, Yvette Cooper was quizzed about what the department was doing to free councils and housing associations from house building red tape.

She said her department had decided to opt for new legislation. 'We're looking at that as part of the housing and regeneration bill.'

The legislation, which is likely to be set out in the Queen's Speech next week, will be designed to allow councils to invest their own money in new housing supply.

Ms Cooper told MPs last month that she was considering whether a change in the law was needed to 'tweak' the housing revenue account to make this possible (Inside Housing, 12 October).

The minister confirmed she was 'not a fan' of the housing revenue account, adding: 'I think it would be great if we could find a way to dismantle it over the long term.'

But she hinted that the next three years could be less rosy for arm's-length management organisations, as the £2 billion announced for ALMOs would be stretched more tightly than previously thought.

Ms Cooper was responding to Labour MP Clive Betts' concerns about ALMOs being under pressure to scale back their operations. 'They have not got indication of the money they'll get, which is causing the decent homes programme to slip,' he said.

The housing minister said funding agreements for existing ALMOs and a timetable for round-six organisations would be announced in the next few weeks.

'There have been more local authorities coming forward with ALMO proposals than had initially been anticipated and some have put forward more expensive proposals than anticipated. We wanted to make sure that we can get all local authorities coming forward with proposals,' Ms Cooper said.

She added that uncertainty in the housing market was casting doubt over the roll-out of home information packs. She brushed off accusations that she was using the volatile market conditions as an excuse for bowing to pressure from opponents of the scheme.

'We're going slowly because of all the [market] uncertainty,' she said. 'In that climate, we simply need to take more care about making sure that we're getting the timing right for the roll-out.'