It's gossip o'clock
Stepping down but not out
I hear Camden's cabinet member for housing, Charlie Hedges, has stepped down to make way for Raj Chada. Hedges had the uneviable task earlier this year of convincing tenants that arm's-length management was a good idea. Defend Council Housing put paid to that, although I'm assured that Hedges is not carrying the can – he's being given a portfolio elsewhere in the council. The failed ALMO's legacy lives on, however, because Chada cut his housing teeth on its shadow board. I'm sure we all wish him the best in convincing the government that councils need a fourth stock option.

Knocking building blocks
"Were you a Meccano child or a Lego child?" This was one of the probing questions asked of housing minister Keith Hill during the ODPM select committee inquiry into the Housing Corporation on Monday. It had a serious purpose, though. As a prelude to Andrew Bennett MP's attack on the government's fondness for prefab, it did its job of temporarily disorienting Hill. Sensing a trick question, the minister refused to express a preference – although he did admit to being too old for Meccano.

Hole in one's argument
Eyebrows were raised last Monday when Sir Andrew Turnbull, head of the civil service, likened working in the public sector to playing golf. A good round of golf, he said, was rewarded by having your handicap cut – thus making a good score harder to achieve. The same is true for good work in the public sector – do well and the threshold for a "good score" is raised. Chief executives hoping to squeeze in 18 holes on a Friday afternoon may struggle to justify it in the name of good public services, however.

The killer strikes
We've heard the folks at Tower Homes have a competitive streak but things might have gone a little too far. Anne-Britt Karunaratne, housing services director at Presentation Housing Association, was left bleeding from her ankle at a shared-ownership conference in Coventry two weeks ago after a run-in with Kevin Jones, Tower's assistant director of operations, and a wine glass. Tower sources swear it was an accident but it has given Jones a new nickname in the office: "Killer".

Glasgow kiss
Glasgow Housing Association hasn't done itself any favours in the public images stakes recently with the move to banish two tenant representatives from its board because of alleged egregious conduct. Its charge sheet against Colin Deans, one of the pair, was hardly damning. Among the seven shocking allegations was that he had spoken to a journalist from this very publication. Deans is now requesting a judicial review of the decision, and GHA is heading for another load of trouble.

Bowled over

Civil servants getting jittery at the prospect of being kicked out of London in the wake of the Gershon report can take heart. There have been reports that central functions could be transferred to India but – a little closer to home – Blackburn council is ready to welcome them with open arms. It has even identified the perfect site for the Whitehall of the North. It is right next door to what will soon be a leisure centre with an indoor swimming pool and six tenpin bowling lanes to provide some light relief for weary mandarins.

Source

Housing Today