The voluntary nature of the housing association movement could come under question in a new Housing Corporation study
The agency is commissioning consultants to re-examine "with a fresh pair of eyes" the controversial issue of payment for board members.

A spokeswoman for the corporation said the research would "attempt to balance the views of housing associations who would say they need to pay board members like NHS trust members, given the serious money involved, and those housing associations who don't want to see the voluntary ethos undermined."

She claimed that some associations wanted to attract more skilled board members.

The move comes after corporation concerns about the ability of some housing associations' boards to recognise the risks involved in increasingly complex deals and schemes.

But the corporation also wants to explore lost earnings payments as a way of attracting tenant board members.

The spokeswoman said: "The whole point of a fresh pair of eyes is that they will look at all the options."

A separate corporation study will also look at relaxing some of the rules around housing the relatives of board members.

National Housing Federation chief executive Jim Coulter said it was "extremely premature" to talk of the death of the voluntary movement. He pointed out the federation and its members favoured loss-of-earnings payments rather than board remuneration.

"The problem with remuneration is not just that it ruins the voluntary concept but it is also naive because it does not take account of social security rules."

He added: "There is no evidence that there is a lack of skill among board members that would be remedied by payment. But there is every evidence that some people on low incomes are inhibited from board membership by the fact that they will lose earnings."

* The corporation is also preparing a good practice guide on the appointment and payment of chief executives.

It follows concerns about both the level of pay highlighted in Housing Today's survey on the subject (issue 116), and the unorthodox appointment of recent chief executives.

Last week the corporation condemned Paddington Churches HA for appointing its new chief executive Anu Vedi without advertising the post.

A spokeswoman said: "We made it clear to them that if asked publicly about our view of this we would say we do not think this is an example of good governance."

Source

Housing Today