Established arm’s-length management organisations are to be re-inspected and possibly supervised if their performance falters.
The announcement also raises the spectre of funding cuts for ALMOs that are rated poor in their re-inspections.

Some of the 20 first- and second-round ALMOs that have already met performance criteria could be in line for re-inspection before the end of next year.

Even the highest-performing ALMOs – those awarded three stars by the Audit Commission – will not be exempt from re-inspection.

But the time between inspections is expected to differ according to the ALMOs’ first inspection score.

Housing minister Keith Hill unveiled the plans on Monday. The ODPM, Audit Commission and National Federation of ALMOs – the sector’s trade body – are still discussing the details but it is understood that three-star organisations could be re-inspected every three years and those with two stars every two years.

Roger Jarman, strategic policy adviser at the Audit Commission, said the timing of re-inspections would depend on how good the ALMO’s prospects for improvement were said to be in previous reports.

Speaking at the NFA’s first national conference, Keith Hill said ALMOs, which need at least two stars in order to access government funding, needed to sustain their reputation for high performance. “Re-inspection is the most effective way of ensuring continuing high performance,” he said. “We propose that an ALMO would be subject to supervision to help it regain its two-star status over, for example, 12 months.”

Hill also announced that successful bidders for the fourth round of ALMOs would be announced in May.

However, their allocations will not be revealed until after the comprehensive spending review in July.

Source

Housing Today