Paying top-up fees to the university of gossip
They look so good together
The January sales are drawing to a close, yet one housing association is apparently still keen to snap up a bargain. My sources say Genesis Housing Group is showing an interest in a merger with Notting Hill Housing Group. Genesis chief Anu Vedi has vigorously denied this, but they are both based in London and their stock in the north and west of the capital would dovetail rather well …

Graveyard humour
It's good to see that Camden council can still raise a smile amid its times of trouble. Following the resounding "no" vote in the ALMO ballot, word reaches me of a rather strange request. Extra copies of the front cover of last week's Housing Today have been requested for the office wall of the housing department.

For those who missed the cover in question, it depicted a tombstone with the epitaph "RIP Camden ALMO". According to one wag, the council hopes to remind people that "Camden's ALMO is an ex-ALMO".

Eat your heart out, DH Lawrence
On a recent trip to the East Midlands, Social Animal uncovered evidence of a reservoir of literary talent just below the housing sector's surface.

David Seviour, chief executive of Leicester Housing Association, confessed to having a 600-page historical novel lurking somewhere on his laptop's hard drive. Apparently the book charts the rise of the Normans from small-time crooks to the kings of England. He's yet to find an agent. Any takers?

Quality street
Spare a thought for poor Howard John, head of the Welsh Federation of Housing Associations: shortly after moving into his new home recently, he watched aghast as his ceiling collapsed. Apparently a leaky bath, which the seller had failed to mention, had weakened it. Not even a sellers' pack could have helped, admitted a somewhat bedraggled John. On well – at least he's got a few years yet to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

Top-up turmoil
The curse of Lord Barnett's much maligned local government finance formula has struck again. Confirming Barnett's point that the formula has grown out of control (see last week's Social Animal), it has emerged that Scottish councils – already disproportionately favoured by the formula – somehow stand to gain an extra £200m if university top-up fees are introduced in England. Coincidentally, Scottish MPs will probably have the casting vote in the upcoming parliamentary battle over the introduction of top-up fees in England. At least 27 Scottish Labour MPs are due to support the government on the proposals – which, of course, wouldn't stand a chance north of the border.

Keep off the …

A 14-year-old from north Manchester has been prohibited from using the word “grass” anywhere in England and Wales until 2010. It’s an antisocial behaviour order issued after the lad repeatedly abused his neighbours, claiming they were police informers. No doubt he deserves some form of punishment, but forcing him to use phrases like “low-lying plants blanketing the ground” seems a touch absurd.

Source

Housing Today