Housing managers could become new 'supremos'

Sources say momentum is growing for a new structure headed by a neighbourhood manager responsible for bringing together housing providers, health authorities, social services, police and the private sector.

The structure would see neighbourhood supremos, supported by housing and community development officers, and "super caretakers", in charge of delivering services in their area, leaving local authorities with a strategic function.

Health or social services chiefs could be in the frame for the job.

But the housing lobby will argue that housing professionals will often be best placed to take on the new role.

Sources believe the well-paid supremo role could be filled by professionals at a council assistant director of housing or association regional director level.

The new structure has been looked at by two of the Social Exclusion Unit's key policy action teams. The housing management team report is due to be considered by minister Hilary Armstrong this week.

Meanwhile the neighbourhood management team, due to report in December, will be looking at how such a structure would work in terms of resourcing the different services at neighbourhood level.

The idea of a supremo responsible for resources and "booting through" decisions was mooted in the Social Exclusion Unit's report on neighbourhood renewal last year.

Appointing supremos is one of the key recommendations of a report co-authored by government advisor Anne Power on turning around inner-city decline (Housing Today, issue 132).

It said successful experiments in housing management involved many services, "but housing management is often in the lead because of the dominance of council landlords in the poorest areas".

National Housing Federation chief executive Jim Coulter welcomed "strong signs from officials" that neighbourhood supremos would be the focus of local management, allowing more multi-agency working.

He said: "It would be logical to base neighbourhood management on the existing housing services and extend services in co-operation with others, rather than creating something new and possibly creating confusion."

Chartered Institute of Housing director of policy John Perry said there was an "obvious case" for a neighbourhood supremo but the neighbourhood management team's task was the most difficult in coming up with a workable way of bringing services at local level together.