Debt-free councils will be allowed to spend right-to-buy receipts raised before the Local Government Bill comes into force next April.
The surprise temporary concession is among the provisions in the long-anticipated bill, published this week.

The change is expected to benefit debt-free authorities such as Waverley in Surrey, which had complained that the pooling of capital receipts could affect its plans to increase the availability of affordable housing.

The content of the bill had been expected to follow the proposals contained in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's consultation paper on the subject published in June.

Instead, the bill includes provisions forcing councils to take more account of local housing markets and private sector housing in drawing up strategy plans.

The Local Government Association and Chartered Institute of Housing welcomed the changes. Both lobbied for the bill to include such provisions.

LGA chair Sir Jeremy Beecham said: "The package for high-performing councils is ambitious and will free them up to improve the services they can offer local people."

Source

Housing Today