Implementing Self Financing for Council Housing

February 2011

Communities & LocalGovernment published a paper: ‘Implementing Self-Financing for Council Housing’on 1st February 2011. This paper contains the coalition government’s detailedproposals for the introduction of self-financing to the Housing Revenue Accountand follows papers issued by the former Labour government

The purpose of this paper isto summarise ‘Implementing Self Financing for Council Housing’.

The concept of self-financingand the main elements of the proposed system remain unchanged but there arechanges to the financial calculations and to some of the detailed proposals.

The paper addresses thefollowing matters:

• The Self-Financing Settlement
• Ensuring an accurate valuation
• The surrounding policy framework
• Planning the transaction
• The implementation timetable
• Ongoing data requirements
• The subsidy system for 2011/12

The paper is accompanied by:

• A model that applies the settlement methodology tothe data to provide
• Indicative figures for each local authority
• A user guide to accompany this model
• A report on the model inputs, assumptions andoutputs

The paper was launched byGrant Shapps MP, Minister for Housing, who said that:

“Todaysignals a landmark in the freeing up of councils to successfully manage theirown housing stock for the benefit of their tenants. A change that has long beentalked about, but the Coalition Government is actually delivering.

“Our proposals for self-financing for councilhousing will:

• Give councils the resources they need to managetheir own housing stock for the long-term - correcting decades of under- funding
• Give councils the incentives and flexibility theyhave sought to drive up quality and efficiency
• Give tenants the information they need to holdtheir landlord to account - replacing the current opaque, centralised systemwith one which establishes a clear relationship between the rent councilscharge and the services they provide.”

For full briefing paper please click here.