HouseMark Scotland and ALACHO, the representative body for Scotland's local authority chief housing officers, have launched a new council housing research project.

Earlier this month, a focus group of local authority staff met to start discussions around some of the issues affecting council house rents and management costs. These included rent levels and modelling, management efficiencies, and how surpluses might be generated within the HRA and applied to new build housing.

While, the issues affecting the possibility of Councils building new houses such as demand, land availability, access to grants and the assumptions for borrowing, costs and rent levels were also discussed.


Kirsty Wells, HouseMark Scotland Manager, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with ALACHO to produce up to date research on the financial headroom which is potentially available to Scottish local authorities both individually and collectively.

"HouseMark data will assist us to demonstrate how management efficiencies are being made in some local authorities, and what potential there is more widely for management efficiencies, as headroom is not just driven by rent levels or debt, but also by the efficiency of services that are delivered by the HRA."

Jim Hayton, ALACHO Policy Manager, added: "The shortage of affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues facing Scotland's communities. Even in these difficult times it is right that councils should leave no stone unturned in seeking ways to maximise resources for investment in new homes. This research should help us do just that, and ALACHO is pleased to be working with HouseMark on this important piece of work."

The research is being conducted by HouseMark Associate Consultants Sharon Fleming and David Hall.

The findings will be released in March at the CIH Scotland Annual Conference in Glasgow.

(JP/MH)