Councils that lose their three-star status will be able to retain the autonomy given to "excellent" local authorities for at least a year, local government minister Nick Raynsford announced on 5 November.
The move follows the Audit Commission's decision to re-grade councils rated "excellent" under the comprehensive performance assessment as "good" if they slip up in an intervening inspection.

Under the CPA system, introduced last December, "excellent" councils are allowed to remove revenue ring-fencing from 2003/04, giving them more power to control their budgets.

However, senior council figures are sceptical about the change. Neil Litherland, director of housing at Camden in north London, said: "When it comes to housing, freedoms are just hype. There's no extra income for prudential borrowing. Rent restructuring is confining, and Camden's ALMO will have to be re-inspected, despite the fact that we've had four housing-related inspections since 2002."

  • The Audit Commission has released CPA results for five Nottinghamshire district councils. The scores were: Ashfield, fair; Broxtowe, fair; Gedling, good; Mansfield, weak; Rushcliffe, good.

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    Housing Today