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As few as 35 of the strategies and plans submitted by the 354 councils with responsibility for housing have been deemed 鈥渇it for purpose鈥� under the new rating, part of the housing investment programme. The ratings are judged on how well the housing strategy fits with other council work, projects run by outside agencies and progress towards the decent homes target.

The ratings鈥� impact will not be known until the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister sends councils detailed feedback later this month.

Although the ODPM is not revealing which councils have passed or failed, authorities that won above-average scores in the 2002-2003 HIP ratings are likely to be among the successful 10%.

The ODPM acknowledged that it had given councils only three months to prepare but said 鈥渁 significant number鈥� of strategies would reach the standard next time round.

It will not issue any sanctions against councils whose strategies and plans have failed to be 鈥渇it for purpose鈥�, but some councils will be forced to redo their housing strategies and business plans.

Derby council is among those deemed fit for purpose. This means it will no longer have to submit an annually-revised housing strategy to the government and will get a larger HIP allocation 鈥� a total of 拢3.9m in 2003/4.

In this year鈥檚 HIP ratings, around a third of district councils were classed as below or well below average, compared with 17% of unitaries and 19% of metropolitan councils. But more than half the metropolitan councils were graded above or well above average, compared with just a quarter of districts.

Heriot-Watt University researcher Hal Pawson, who conducted HIP analysis for the Housing Quality Network, said the larger average size of metropolitan and unitary councils could explain the results.

鈥淚t may give these councils an advantage in the staffing resources they are a ble to devote to strategic policymaking,鈥� he said.