The ODPM has taken control of Hull council's stock options appraisal as the council continues to refuse to consider wholesale transfer or arm's-length management (HT 31 October, page 10).
In an unprecedented move, the ODPM is to pay for and select the consultants to perform the appraisal, which decides how councils meet the decent homes standard and must be completed by all authorities by July 2005. The process of selecting the consultants began with a round of interviews last month, and a winner is expected to be announced later in May.

It has prompted speculation in Hull that the development marks one more step towards full government intervention in the council,which is already under supervision. A consultant close to the situation, who did not wish to be named, said: "This is unprecedented. It begins to sound like takeover."

But housing cabinet member Steven Bayes said: "This is fine for us because it gives us extra capacity and lets us get on with the day-to-day issues."

Other observers say the move is designed to get the government the result it wants despite the opposition of the council's leading Labour group. Independent councillor Chris Jarvis said: "We will see what the ODPM does if the council won't accept the outcome."

Hull was put under government supervision, though not direct control, in September 2003 after repeated failure to improve its housing strategy.

Source

Housing Today