As promised, following their attendance at the recent ARCH New Build Network meeting,
officials at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government have now issued a list of FAQs (Frequently Asked
Questions) to aid those councils considering bids for increases in
their HRA borrowing headroom, under the government's HRA Borrowing
Programme.
The deadline for submission of bids under the Programme is 7
September 2018.
It is significant that the recently published Social Housing
Green Paper states that the government:"will use the new £1billion
borrowing programme to measure the appetite and ambition of local
authorities and their effectiveness at building new homes, with a
view to considering whether further reforms are needed".
If the stock retained sector is to convince Ministers (and
Treasury in particular) that there should be a more general lifting
of HRA debt caps, it is vital that those councils eligible to bid
under the recently announced £1billion HRA Borrowing Programme do
so and ensure that the Programme is not undersubscribed.