Forum Topic

"Wandsworth gets disappointing share of billion pound housing fund"

Isn't it Wandsworth Council which was criticised by the GMB for having considerable reserves in its bank account which were ring fenced for housing but unspent?  Mr Govindia should look to his own record, I'm getting rather bored with his constant criticism of Sadiq Khan.

Jane Eades ● 2381d2 Comments

I don't really know the system that well but I think the government gives a subsidy direct to local authorities through the Housing Revenue Account which covers the shortfall between management and maintenance costs and rents. Therefore you may be overstating the risk of taking on more social housing stock.

Tony Church ● 2380d

Isn't it the case for all Councils that they are constrained in how they can use the build up in reserves to build social housing? My understanding is that you would need to be able to show that you can meet the cost both in terms of the capital account (i.e. building the homes) and the revenue account (i.e. funding their ongoing maintenance). The problem for all Councils is that while they may have ample funds to build new homes they don't have the revenue to maintain them and the resulting deficit would mean they would need to make cuts elsewhere. If you look at the numbers in detail of this apparent bonanza by the Mayor is over £600,000 per home which is way more than the cost of building each one would be. This must be to cover maintenance for a period.

Gordon Southwell ● 2380d