The Government looks set to bow to pressure from councils to give them more cash to build new homes. As The MJ went to press, chancellor Alistair Darling signalled he would allow councils back into the housing market to take forward developments which offered best value. It followed pressure from local government, including a recent APSE/Association of Retained Council Housing conference. The leaders of Barking and Dagenham LBC, Waverley BC and Portsmouth City Council have also written to Treasury secretary, Yvette Cooper, asking her to remove the burden of old housing debts to the Public Works Loans Board, and to localise housing finance as part of the Government's review of council housing finance. The Treasury and CLG are currently reviewing the Housing Revenue Account system. Councils want a localised, debt-free system which would allow them to spend rental income.
