Here's one we made earlier: A local housing strategy takes shape

The notion of boards is in line with Labour's 1997 manifesto commitment to regional government and complements last year's white paper plan for the eight regions outside London to hold referenda on creating "mini-parliaments". But England's nine regions have been given only until July to complete their regional housing strategies – just six months from the time of the announcement.

The essential function of regional housing boards is to allocate funds. From 2004, approved development programme and housing improvement programme money will combine to form a single regional pot. This will be allocated by a board including representatives from economic, political and housing bodies: the regional assembly, the government office, the regional development agency, the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships. The board's decisions will be informed by their regional strategies.

Preparation's what you need
While some regions are feeling the pressure of that six-month deadline, Yorkshire and Humberside is one step ahead of the game, having had a "shadow board" in place for almost two years. Back in August 2001, the Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum – which represents housing associations, councils and other housing organisations such as homelessness charities – released a regional housing statement outlining the area's problems. In high demand areas, houses can cost more than £60,000, four times the region's average salary but, across the area as a whole, 476,000 homes are at risk of low demand or abandonment.

The forum set itself the target of having a fully-fledged strategy ready by March 2003. Therefore, as soon as the government signalled its intentions for regional boards in November, Yorkshire's government office set up a project team to draft the official strategy document. Essentially, the team is preparing policy work for the actual board, which will hold its first meeting in May.

The main question on the minds of local housing professionals is exactly how the £140m from the region's new single pot will be divided up. From 2004, money will be allocated as part of a two-year programme, one year longer than at present, so funding for larger projects can be set out over a longer time.

Rick Elliot, the Housing Corporation's representative on the project team, says setting out the allocation strategy will be technically difficult. "Government guidance says 70% of HIP money should be allocated to councils as at present. And only a proportion of ADP money is new – much is taken up already by pre-allocations and continuing programmes, which will be guaranteed."

Initially, at least, the board will have only a limited say on where the money goes. After funding commitments to councils and associations have been fulfilled, there will be little cash left to play with. Allocations will also have to accommodate national targets such as those on building rural homes.

There may be trouble ahead
The stage is set for tensions between local authorities as not all can expect to get a proportionate share of the regional pot in future. But, says Elliot, "There is a growing realisation that improvements in one area also benefit those nearby."

Tension is also likely in the strategy's relationship with other regional documents. Currently, the regional planning guidance indicates a need for housebuilding in South Yorkshire and the Humber area to cope with the extra 15,000 households forming each year. The housing strategy taking shape is likely to draw a more equivocal conclusion. With the regional planning guidance not due to re-assess its housing figure for another year, alignment with the housing strategy won't be achieved quickly.

That's only to be expected, says Dr Rob Warm, social policy manager with the regional assembly. "The strategy won't be 100% ready by July. The vision is good, but there won't be enough detail. The detail will be generated in the first year and, after that, a real impact can be made through the spending powers."

Delay, though, is not an option. The first full meeting of the housing board will be in mid-May, when a final draft of the strategy is due to be approved. Following local elections, the document will be put out for consultation. No wonder Yorkshire and Humber's project team are relieved they came prepared.