The Chief secretary to the Treasury has visited the offices of Irwell Valley Housing Association with a view to adopting its gold service across the public sector
Paul Boateng MP met with the Housing Corporation's investment director (north), Max Steinberg, and Irwell Valley chief executive Tom Manion. A recent Office of the Deputy Prime Minister report on Irwell Valley's gold service, which offers motivational incentives for both tenants and staff, is understood to conclude that it could be suitable for most social landlords.

Boateng is believed to have been particularly interested in the cost savings the service has achieved for the Manchester-based association: costs are down 16%; transfers to surpluses are up 162% per home; arrears are down 47% and staff numbers per property are down 25% since 1998.

Manion said: "The essential message was, can this be applicable not only to housing associations but the whole of the public service?"

A spokesman for Boateng said: "The chief secretary is engaged in a series of visits to take out the spending review messages to regional areas and also to try and look at projects on the ground." Housing association schemes were the "territory of the ODPM", he added.