The office of the deputy prime Minister has agreed to give back the £97m of approved development programme cash it held back to fund its U-turn on local authority social housing grant.
The cash was promised in the Communities Plan but was held back to fund the phasing-out of LASHG (HT 2 May, page 9). The grant was due to be phased out last month, but after the sector protested that the transitional funds of £380m were insufficient, the government pledged an extra £111m for 2003/04.

A spokesman for the ODPM said the £97m of ADP money had never been frozen but it had been waiting for the corporation to put forward proposals on how it would be spent.

On Wednesday, the corporation has the opportunity to put forward those proposals at a meeting with the ODPM. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Housing Corporation assistant chief executive Neil Hadden said he would propose that the money went to schemes already in the pipeline. He was to suggest that the money funded unsuccessful bids, schemes that already had funding and projects that would have received LASHG.

He said associations would see the money in September or October, subject to ODPM confirmation.

He said: "The idea is that we come forward with proposals for schemes that will be approved this year."

Source

Housing Today