It's been a big week for two of Whitehall's three housing quangos and, for once, English Partnerships was the one taking a back seat.
The Housing Corporation grabbed most of the headlines with a much-needed shake-up that will, quite rightly, see it strengthen its weak hand in policy creation and thrust it much more into the limelight in the regions (pages 11 and 20).

New boss Jon Rouse has stamped his mark on the organisation following its end-to-end review by the ODPM, and this at least means associations now know they have someone in the top job at Maple House who is prepared – and, more importantly, properly equipped with policies and ideas – to fight their corner.

The hope will also be that Rouse will be able to retain a strong role for the corporation in investment when the time eventually comes to thrash out who gets what powers with the planned elected regional assemblies.

But despite determined lobbying by the sector, the dilution of the corporation's investment role in some shape or form seems inevitable.

Rouse knows that a debate with the ODPM on this issue is coming and has moved quickly to arm himself with specialist teams such as policy and efficiency that will kick-start the corporation's output of strategy ideas.

But the first real indication of the direction in which Rouse wishes to take the corporation will be who is chosen to fill the five field director posts he has created.

Jon Rouse will be tempted to appoint only investment people to top Corporation jobs. He must resist

It's a crucial decision and Rouse will doubtless be tempted to send a clear message to the ODPM that he can deliver the boost in social housing that it requires by appointing purely those from the investment side of the business. But he must resist this temptation because it would appear to the sector that he was sidelining the regulation role.

Meanwhile, the third quango, the Audit Commission, has been quietly overhauling the way social housing providers are inspected (page 8).

It may not feel like a historic time, and the change may not even be that much of a surprise because the commission has, wisely, been open about the whole process, but the results of more than a year's work are gradually being unveiled – and they will fundamentally alter the sector's relationship with the inspectors.

The latest move came on Monday when the body published the first seven of its long-awaited 16 key lines of enquiry. The document's language is uninspiring, but it amounts to crib sheets for councils and housing associations on how to pass inspections.

Source

Housing Today