§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in what way(a) new and (b) existing social tenants will have greater choice over their housing in the choice-based lettings pilot scheme. [10166]
§ Ms KeebleThe 27 local authority-led pilots were chosen to test different choice-based approaches to lettings, operating in a variety of circumstances.
Nearly all the schemes are designed to give greater choice to new and existing tenants by moving away from bureaucratic, points-based, allocation schemes to schemes where applicants select directly from available vacancies.
There is a strong emphasis on partnership working between the pilot authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) operating in their area; and in some cases the intention is to bring private landlords on board as well, to offer as wide a choice as possible to new and existing tenants. Some of the pilots involve a consortium of authorities and RSLs working together. Some include links between areas of high and low demand. These schemes offer the opportunity to test the potential for promoting mobility across local authority boundaries,
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Area covered by successful bid Successful bidders Total amount of SHI funding allocated £ million London All London boroughs1,2 Keys to the Capital Consortium: Tower Homes, Metropolitan Home Ownership, Notting Hill Home Ownership, Boleyn and Forest Housing 95.818 All London boroughs Keys to the Capital Consortium: Tower Homes, Metropolitan Home Ownership, Notting Hill Home Ownership (NHHO), Boleyn and Forest Housing 15.312 Camden NHHO 0.713 Hackney1 Unitary Ltd. 1.033 Newham1,2 St. George plc (NHHO will manage the scheme) 1.400 Hammersmith and Fulham1 Bush Housing Association 0.983 Hammersmith and Fulham1,2 St. George plc (NHHO will manage the scheme) 1.050 Islington1 NHHO 1.760 North/West London1 Peabody Trust 3.106 Wandsworth Wandsworth council (NHHO will manage the scheme) 1.380 Brent1,2 Northcote Housing Association 1.821 Brent1,2 NHHO 0.322 Brent1 Sutherland HA 1.139 Ealing2 Northcote HA 1.658 increasing choice for tenants and new applicants, and enabling better use to be made of the national housing stock.
We expect all the pilot schemes to ensure that the needs of vulnerable households are considered and addressed during the development of the pilot, to ensure that they are not disadvantaged under the new scheme. This will include the provision of information and advice to help people make appropriate and informed choices—as well as practical support to help them make the move.