Modelling self-financing of housing services

On 7 June 2006 Ruth Kelly announced the Communities and Local Government's intention to work with a small number of excellent local authorities and local authorities with three-star ALMOs to examine the costs and benefits of operating their finances outside the national housing subsidy system.

The Department believes the best way to understand these risks and benefits is to work up model business plans with a small group, based on real life examples.

We said we would work with three local authorities who have retained their housing management in-house and three who have established ALMOs. In selecting participants we have sought a good range of different circumstances including likely cost, the nature and size of the housing stock, the nature of the local area, and housing market pressures. The six should help us to understand how the model would work in a variety of circumstances.

We have now invited the following councils and ALMOs to participate in this exercise:

Local authorities with ALMOs