Chief executive Jon Rouse expected to respond to recent government criticism
The Housing Corporation is to undergo a major restructure, it emerged this week soon after two inquiries into the quango were published.

Chief executive Jon Rouse is set to stamp his authority on the corporation with a far-reaching shake-up that sources said would be announced shortly after Housing Today went to press.

The changes are expected to respond to some of the criticism of the corporation in the government's "end-to-end" review and in the ODPM select committee report. The end-to-end review was published last Thursday; the committee report last Tuesday.

A final version of the end-to-end review, seen shortly before official publication, specifically called on the corporation to "change its organisational structure, so that its investment teams work to the Government Office regional boundaries".

It is not known yet if Rouse plans to implement the recommendations immediately, but it is understood his plans involve reorganisation at regional level.

The corporation's main trade unions will consult staff on the internal review over the coming weeks.

Few details were available on the scope of the internal review, but it comes at a time of sweeping change for the body. Having lost its inspection function to the Audit Commission last April, the corporation looks increasingly likely to lose the battle with the planned regional assemblies to retain its investment role (HT 25 June, page 14).

London staff are likely to hear next week whether they will be moved to the regions in response to the Lyons review, which called for the relocation of 20,000 civil servants.

The corporation and the Audit Commission said they would look at moving their head offices out of London after the publication of Sir Michael Lyons' Treasury-sponsored review in March (HT 19 March, page 9).

Staff in the corporation's biggest office, its London headquarters, are waiting anxiously for the outcome. "It's causing concern among the higher levels of staff like middle management," said a source. The Lyons review comes as the lease on the corporation's London regional office in Soho nears its end.

A spokeswoman said she could not comment on either review in advance of the announcements.

Source

Housing Today