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ONS confirms reclassification of housing associations
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reclassified housing associations as private, ahead of a speech by Sajid Javid this morning.
The communities secretary will make the speech in Bristol at 10am this morning, and will announce that “the government is taking housing associations’ debt off the balance sheet”, according to an official release.
The ONS already announced it would make this move two weeks ago, saying that the reclassification would take place once deregulation measures pass into law.
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Today it released a statement confirming the news as the regulations have now come into force.
The statement said: “ONS has concluded that registered providers of social housing in England are private, market producers and as such they will be reclassified to the private non-financial corporations sub-sector for the purpose of national accounts and other economic statistics.
“This classification takes effect from 16 November 2017, the date the regulations came into force.”
In 60 seconds: deregulation of English HAs
Mr Javid’s speech will also say that this will “ensure housing associations have a stable investment environment to build more homes”.
Housing association debt was reclassified as public sector in 2015, due to the level of government regulation – particularly powers over appointing board members and consenting to mergers and sales.
After the move, the government immediately promised deregulatory measures to reverse the position.
There has been no material change to housing associations’ businesses – whether in the cost or availability of borrowing – due to spending two years on the government balance sheet.
Speaking at the time of the reclassification, a Department for Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “This statistical matter… makes no difference at all to the way housing associations run themselves and imposes no new controls or rules.”
Responding to the reclassification, David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “We strongly support the ONS’s decision today, endorsed by the secretary of state, to reclassify housing associations as private bodies.
“This is welcome recognition of their position as independent social businesses with a shared social purpose of building a quality home that everyone can afford.”
In his speech, the communities secretary will also say: “The generation crying out for help with housing is not over-entitled. They don’t want the world handed to them on a plate. They want simple fairness, moral justice, the opportunity to play by the same rules enjoyed by those who came before them.”
