London Councils calls for greater powers to drive up local housing standards

London Councils Executive Member for Housing Councillor Jamie Carswell has renewed calls for local authorities to be awarded a greater regulatory role over social housing providers.

Speaking at the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham, he questioned the wisdom of establishing a new independent housing regulator - as proposed in the recent Cave Review of Social Housing Regulation.

London Councils has argued that the proposal to create a new national regulatory body will not be the best way to improve standards in the social housing sector.

The organisation believes a far better move would be to provide councils with the power to ensure all providers co-operate on local housing strategies. This role should include assessment of housing providers' performance and contribution to the local housing strategy and wider local strategies including Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements.

London Councils Executive Member for Housing, Councillor Jamie Carswell said:

"We support Professor Cave's desire to improve standards in the social housing sector - but are calling for a different approach. A new national body for scrutinising housing providers is unnecessary and could find itself drawn into far too many disputes that are strictly local in nature.

"It would be far better to bolster the ability of local councils to scrutinise RSLs in their delivery on the local housing strategy. That way we can increase the accountability of RSLs to local communities, without always having to involve what could be an unwieldy national body in strictly local matters.

"Such a move will further underline the strategic housing role of local councils. London Councils has been campaigning for RSLs to be included in the list of bodies in the Local Government and Public Health Bill that can be scrutinised by local authorities through local area agreements - and I would like to take this opportunity to renew that call."

Councillor Carswell was speaking at the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham.