The 14 councils bidding for funds in the third round of the government's arm's-length management initiative say they will need a total of 拢1.5bn over the next eight years
The National Federation of ALMO says the councils have asked the government to give them 拢400m by 2006, out of the 拢700m total available for rounds three and four.

The news came as the government moved to confirm the future of ALMOs beyond their target of meeting the decent homes standard by 2010. There had been speculation that ALMOs would have no further role once that target had been reached.

Speaking at an ALMO conference in London on Tuesday, Wendy Jarvis, new head of the ODPM's local authority housing division, assured delegates that best-performing ALMOs would be able to borrow funds by 2005. But she said there would be extensive consultation beforehand.

She said: "How soon [borrowing powers] can be delivered depends on what the consultation decides and on what that requires to put it in place. It could require legislation.

"No major, and I emphasise major, changes could realistically take place before 2005."

The consultation paper will be published in the summer.

No major changes to borrowing powers could realistically happen before 2005

Wendy Jarvis, ODPM

Of the 21 existing ALMOs, three have achieved the three-star status from the Audit Commission necessary to qualify for extra financial freedom, which the government has promised will include borrowing powers.

These bodies are unlikely to need to borrow before 2005.

Nigel Brook, chief executive of City West Homes, which hosted the conference, said: "We want to look at the community as a whole. However, we need a lot more money to make that happen."

  • The chairs of three arm's-length management organisations met housing minister Tony McNulty on Wednesday to press for their future to be made more secure.

    • Source

    Housing Today