| Tuesday 29th November 2005 |
(ref: 463/2005) |
Councillors who are set to decide next year's council house rent levels later this week will find their freedom to manoeuvre limited by complex national rules on public sector rents.
A joint meeting of Wigan Council's cabinet and overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday, 1 December, will consider the rise in the light of government guidelines aimed at bringing rents for council properties more in line with those of housing associations.
The meeting will hear that tenant satisfaction levels are at an all time high as the borough's £250 million transformation programme gathers pace, but a rent rise is needed to continue those improvements.
Housing chiefs say the borough's traditionally low rents are being forced to rise faster than inflation in order to achieve the government's target for social housing. But they point out that Wigan's council rents are still lower than those of housing associations and in line with neighbouring local authorities.
If followed, the government guidelines would lead to a 5% rise, raising the average rent for 2006/2007 by £2.59 to £54.40 per week. But if the council decided not to accept the recommended increase, it could lose millions of pounds of government subsidy, putting further planned improvements to council homes at risk.
Wigan Council's Cabinet Member for Community Protection, Cllr Keith Cunliffe, commented: "Our resources are limited and government guidelines effectively dictate rent levels.
"But within those constraints we will work very hard to meet our tenants' aspirations for an excellent housing service, and we'll continue to maintain a popular and improving service which I believe offers excellent value for money."
Cllr Cunliffe said that high tenant satisfaction levels indicated the renewed popularity of council housing in the borough.
Peter Gee, chief executive of Wigan and Leigh Housing, said that demand for a council house was at a very high level as the company, which manages the council's tenancies, is currently delivering a massive £250 million improvement programme ahead of target.
Mr Gee added: "This programme is not only enhancing individual properties, with kitchen improvements, roofing works and fencing schemes but ensuring that the appearance, reputation and quality of life of whole estates are boosted.
"The company has also been driving forward improvements to tenant services including customer access and improved tenant participation, both of which were recently recognised nationally."