London Councils Leaders’ Committee
Capital Moves
Report by:
Genevieve Macklin
Date:
12 February 2008
Contact
Officer:
Nick Day
Telephone:
020 7934 9823
Item no: 10
Job title:
Director of Housing Policy
Email:
[email protected]
Summary
Leaders will be aware that they were due to receive a report on the
Capital Moves project, asking them to indicate whether their authorities
were likely to be part of progressing to the procurement and development
stage. While work has progressed on a range of policy issues, and
procurement and future governance arrangements, there are still a
number of issues to resolve, particularly the balance of local, sub-regional
and regional entitlements to new affordable housing. This report
therefore proposes that a decision on taking the Capital Moves Project
forward is deferred until after the Mayoral elections.
Recommendations
Leaders are asked to agree that Leaders’ Committee consider a report in
June 2008 to decide whether the project should proceed to the
procurement stage.
Capital Moves
Background and work to date
1. The Capital Moves team has been progressing preparatory work on the project,
to provide a platform for enabling tenants of social housing to exercise more
choice, by having access to offers of accommodation across borough boundaries
and in other regions. In parallel, negotiations have proceeded with the GLA on
the policy underpinning such a scheme - in particular, the proportion of relets that
would be available to Capital Moves, and the balance of local, sub-regional and
regional entitlements to new affordable housing.
2. Having taken on board comments from the boroughs, the Capital Moves team
has made significant progress on several key policy areas, in order to address
concerns expressed by a number of boroughs. This progress includes:

An issue about the definition of the existing properties to be included in the
proposed 5% of relets to be shared for mobility. Boroughs expressed concern
that they should be able to exclude from this figure decants of existing homes, if
they are needed to enable regeneration projects to go forward. This principle is
likely to be acceptable to other partners.

A discussion about minimising the impact on sending and receiving boroughs of
the 5% of relets proposed for mobility. A proposal is being developed that
would allow a partner that has had more (or less) in-migration than outmigration, to adjust the number of properties they contribute, or adjust the
number of tenants/homeseekers who would bid, until balance is achieved.

The Capital Moves team has been considering ways to assess housing need
based on mobility for employment reasons, or for giving or receiving support.
Many boroughs have seen this as a priority for Capital Moves.

Most boroughs expressed a preference for their local allocation policies to
determine the priority awarded to each Capital Moves customer. Significant
progress has been made in developing a model for operating Capital Moves in
this manner.

There have been discussions around advertising properties, and ensuring that
Capital Moves provides a range of flexible access and publicity methods for
customers, boroughs and RSLs.
3. Consultation methods have included :

Borough representation on the Programme Board and sub-groups

Regular discussion with borough officers

Workshops for RSLs

Introduction of regular email bulletins to communicate key messages

Implementation of a web site:
http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/cat.asp?cat=2655
4. Clearly, work is required to bring the range of issues above to an agreed
conclusion. In addition, for a number of other issues, further work is required to
develop agreed positions. These include:

An appropriate balance of local, sub-regional and regional entitlements to newbuild affordable properties has not yet been agreed. This includes treatment of
these properties when they become vacant (for re-letting).

Considerable progress has been made on Governance, and it seems likely that
the scope of the proposed Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) will be restricted to
operational matters. However, final details need to be agreed regarding
partnership objectives, obligations and contributions made by parties to the
JVA, and voting rights.

The transfer of support/care packages, when tenants in receipt of such support
move across borough boundaries.

Work preparatory to undertaking an Equalities Impact Assessment for the
proposed service.
Conclusion and recommendation
5. The proximity of the London Mayoral election, along with the outstanding issues
to be resolved, mean that it will not be possible to finalise decisions before June
2008. Leaders are asked to agree that they receive a report in June to decide
whether the project should proceed to the procurement stage.