Shapps to consult "later in 2011" on extending FOI to housing associations

The Housing Minister has confirmed that a consultation will be held later in 2011 on whether to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to include housing associations.

Grant Shapps claimed the move would make it easier for tenants and the public to find out more about how their landlords work, and what their taxes pay for.

Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Housing conference, the Minister urged housing associations to open up to more public scrutiny. He also demanded that, as social businesses, they keep the salaries of their chief executives and senior officers under tight scrutiny “in order to squeeze the maximum efficiency and value from shrinking resources”.

The Ministry of Justice is already consulting on the potential inclusion of a range of further bodies under the Freedom of Information umbrella. They include the Local Government Group and harbour authorities. Legislation is also to be brought forward to bring the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service within the scope of the Act.

The MoJ will now draw up plans to consult with housing associations on their possible inclusion in the proposals.

Shapps said: "Housing associations have a long and distinguished track record of providing the affordable homes that millions of tenants rely on. But with more pressure on the public purse than ever, all organisations that receive public investment should become more transparent and open to the taxpayers who put the pennies in the purse. Tenants should also be able to scrutinise and understand the way in which their landlords take decisions.

"Transparency is not just a nice-to-have, it is vital for driving down costs and ensuring more is achieved with every taxpayers' pound. Over the last few decades large amounts of ordinary peoples' cash has been invested in social housing, and the public now deserve to know if there are opportunities for efficiencies that can be exploited, so the very most is made of their past, present and future investment.”

Ministry of Justice Minister Lord McNally said: "The public deserves a government that is open and accountable for its actions, and the coalition believes that the same should apply for any organisation that performs functions of a public nature.

"This consultation with housing associations is linked to a wider programme of work that the Ministry of Justice is undertaking to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, which already provides a vital tool for people to find out whether thousands of UK bodies are acting in the public interest and providing value for money.”

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, argued that the housing association sector had been at the forefront of the push towards greater transparency and had published details of chief executives' salaries for at least 15 years. Spending by housing associations is scrutinised by independent boards and tenants already have access to housing associations' accounts, he added.

Orr said: “Publishing details of every transaction over £500 would be hugely bureaucratic, expensive and provide few meaningful benefits for tenants. At a time when public spending is being significantly cutback, tenants want to see cash invested in providing good quality services, homes and facilities for their families. They will not thank the minister for diverting funding away from these core areas in order to support this costly exercise.

“Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations which generate the majority of their funding from private sources and not from the taxpayer. We are pleased to hear the government does not want housing associations to become public bodies. But ministers must therefore stop treating housing associations as public bodies and allow them to get on with their jobs of building the affordable homes the country desperately needs.”